Rogers to WSU - next man up

[jakejc795]

Here's a wild idea: Brett Vigen. MVFC ties. Good coach. Making 100k less at MSU than Jimmy was here. Wouldn't have to coach in Big Skam conference.

You have to think he gets a raise if he stays at MSU, but running with this idea, don't you think we're looking for another head coach in 2026 if he gets Jacks to semifinals?

[salemjack]

Reading tea leaves but it seems like Dan Jackson is the guy.

[jbjack]

Here's a wild idea: Brett Vigen. MVFC ties. Good coach. Making 100k less at MSU than Jimmy was here. Wouldn't have to coach in Big Skam conference.

[jbjack]

I don't get the sense Lujan recruits all too well even though he has a good offensive mind. Heck, he already bolted for Northwestern when he had a coordinator position before he was 30.

UND guy, Augie guy, Jackson, maybe Riggs?

At any rate, it needs to be a great hire otherwise things will really get bad.

I don't know what his role was in recruiting but word is that admin and players would love to have him back. We had a pretty good offensive class last year when he was still our OC. That said, I know a QB recruit that wasn't happy with how his recruitment was handled after Henry committed. Lujan was apparently hot and heavy with the kid but once Henry committed, Lujan ghosted him. No "hey we really like you and wish you well but you were 1b and 1a committed, we'll keep an eye on you type of stuff.

[jakejc795]

He's easy to forget about but shouldn't be overlooked. He may be excited to try his hand at FBS but I doubt that his pay a an assistant at Fresno will be more than we can pay as HC.

The pay issue also has me curious about Freund. If Jimmy wants to bring him to WSU and Freund wants to go, could Freund use that to negotiate near-Lujan-level salary* as Jacks HC?

The salary he's earning as Northwestern's OC*

[jbjack]

Lujan would have to take a pay cut to return to SDSU. His base salary as offensive coordinator at Northwestern is estimated to be about $500,000 a year. But who knows.

Possibly. Since NW isn't a public institution, verifying his salary is tough. 500k is a little light for ba B1G coordinator but he's young, unproven and it is NW. If 500k is accurate, could we get to 400k or a little more? My guess is 400k in Brookings = 500k in Evanston considering COL.

[jbjack]

Feel the need to add that I wasn't really considering Josh Davis an option based on the Fresno State gig, but if he and Jacks are amenable to reunion, I'm not opposed to that

He's easy to forget about but shouldn't be overlooked. He may be excited to try his hand at FBS but I doubt that his pay a an assistant at Fresno will be more than we can pay as HC.

[Jacked_Up]

Lujan would have to take a pay cut to return to SDSU. His base salary as offensive coordinator at Northwestern is estimated to be about $500,000 a year. But who knows.

[discoDancinRabbit]

I'd welcome a Lujan return, but I'd question how many connections he'd have for viable assistants. I guess that's one reason I thought a "Stig bridge to Lujan" might be reasonable

I don't get the sense Lujan recruits all too well even though he has a good offensive mind. Heck, he already bolted for Northwestern when he had a coordinator position before he was 30.

UND guy, Augie guy, Jackson, maybe Riggs?

At any rate, it needs to be a great hire otherwise things will really get bad.

[jakejc795]

Not sold on Jackson, hops around a lot. Got demoted at Vanderbilt and kind of pushed out the door.

Riggs or Lujan should be the top 2.

I'd welcome a Lujan return, but I'd question how many connections he'd have for viable assistants. I guess that's one reason I thought a "Stig bridge to Lujan" might be reasonable

[AZjack]

Dan Jackson, a former Jackrabbit player and assistant coach, should top the list of possible replacements. He was the defensive coordinator for Eck at Idaho and recently went with Eck to join the New Mexico staff. Jackson, a Nebraska native, would be a great replacement. He was a really good and enthusiastic assistant and recruiter for Stig.

Not sold on Jackson, hops around a lot. Got demoted at Vanderbilt and kind of pushed out the door.

Riggs or Lujan should be the top 2.

[Jacked_Up]

Brian Bergstrom, former Jacks' assistant and now the head coach at Winona, also has been mentioned as a possible contender. I'd go all-out for Jackson, though. I doubt Riggs would be interested. He's got a good gig in Sioux Falls and, if he made a move back into coaching, it seems likely that would join his buddy Kalen DeBoer's staff.

[Jacked_Up]

Dan Jackson, a former Jackrabbit player and assistant coach, should top the list of possible replacements. He was the defensive coordinator for Eck at Idaho and recently went with Eck to join the New Mexico staff. Jackson, a Nebraska native, would be a great replacement. He was a really good and enthusiastic assistant and recruiter for Stig.

[jakejc795]

Feel the need to add that I wasn't really considering Josh Davis an option based on the Fresno State gig, but if he and Jacks are amenable to reunion, I'm not opposed to that

[NCJack]

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, and I definitely empathize with the disappointment, although yours is definitely greater given your experience as a player in the program.

I guess I'm a bit more optimistic that this year may represent an anomalous level of roster disruption that may not be eclipsed once players see just how tenuous "moving up" is as FBS rosters are trimmed.

I sure hope I am wrong and I will be the first one to admit it if I am. There is still lots of unknown of who is leaving, who will be the new head coach, etc. That may mitigate some of my doom and gloom.

I do think the support, facilities and culture mean more at SDSU than a vast majority of FCS schools. I also know that the margin of error is razor thin between winning and losing against the NSDUs and Montana States of the country. I expect them to have similar things happen now and in the future but obviously SDSUs is up this time around and it just happens to be a really big blow. How many other FBS rosters just happens to be losing (I think I read 22 somewhere) that many scholarship players? At a time when most FBS schools are actually having to trim rosters. It's just really, really bad timing and a terrible situation for the Jacks.