Official Jimmy Rogers Investigation Thread

[MontanaRabbit]

My original thought when Jimmy was hired, "wow. awesome. An SDSU alum, former captain, guy who has given 19 years of his life to SDSU got a major upgrade for himself. WSU is going to be my favorite FBS team, I should go online and buy a Wazzu sweatshirt."
My thought a few days later. "I hope they do good, but I don't know what to think."
My thought now. "I hope the players that transferred, especially those in their 5th or 6th year who gave a lot to SDSU, have a safe and healthy season and get the opportunity to play in the NFL because of the move. I hope it benefits them personally and they made the correct career change. Whether that means they go 0-12 or 12-0, I am not sure I care."

I really don't think WSU is a "major upgrade". Looking at their schedule for next year and they play Oregon State twice. I think that is pretty telling about the state of the Pac 2 and WSU.

[mnjackrbt]

I really don't think WSU is a "major upgrade". Looking at their schedule for next year and they play Oregon State twice. I think that is pretty telling about the state of the Pac 2 and WSU.

My original thought was an upgrade as in, $300,000 to $1.5 million or whatever it is. FCS to FBS in general being an upgrade. That said, WSU really is a lost FBS program that has no home and nobody wants. I would see in 2, 5, 10, 20 years, whenever, with the changing landscape of college sports, I would not be surprised if SDSU and WSU are in the same conference, whatever that may look like. Whether it is a conference viewed as "The Pac 12" or an FCS conference like the MVFC, or a new G5 conference that is a joke like the MAC.

[MaddogJack]

Jacks fan living in Husker world moment.

Don’t mean to bring out the dead horse to kick her around a little more, but here she goes:

John Cook decided last week that it “was time”. Coach Cook approached AD Dannen with the news and they each shared their thoughts on what was the best next step for the Husker VB program. (Mutual respect)

They each took a deep breath and shared the obvious. Kelly Busboom Kelly (past Husker athlete and assistant) was the natural choice. (KBK even had a clause in her Louisville contract that she wouldn’t owe a buyout if she were offered the Nebraska job). (Mutual respect)

A quick call to KBK got things moving and 6 days later they coordinated the release of the news to each adoring fanbase. No murmurs, no rumors, no backstabbing, no hoarding coaches and recruits. (Mutual respect)

Jordan Larson stepping down earlier this week was the only indication that something was up in the VB program, but it was all good, professional and for the good of the program that was bigger than any one person. (Mutual respect)

Nebraska won’t skip a beat with the coaching change and while there is potential to lose players to the portal with the coaching change - who in their right mind would leave the arguable highest profile VB program (and NIL) for an uncertain future with another program. The precision with which this was carried out with is admirable to say the least.

My point/question is: Did Jimmy lack the respect, maturity or professionalism in the way he handled things or were his intentions ill willed or pointed at something specific that we on the outside weren’t aware of?

Gonna put the horse back in the shed and let her heal. I just thought John Cook (and Troy Dannen and even Louisville and KBK gave a masterclass in the way to end a legacy and respect a university the legend Coach adores.

Coaches (young and old) should take note and act accordingly in the handling of their affairs.


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[MaddogJack]

Dani Busboom Kelly (DBK) - my bad…


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[LetsGoRabbits]

Jacks fan living in Husker world moment.

Don’t mean to bring out the dead horse to kick her around a little more, but here she goes:

John Cook decided last week that it “was time”. Coach Cook approached AD Dannen with the news and they each shared their thoughts on what was the best next step for the Husker VB program. (Mutual respect)

They each took a deep breath and shared the obvious. Kelly Busboom Kelly (past Husker athlete and assistant) was the natural choice. (KBK even had a clause in her Louisville contract that she wouldn’t owe a buyout if she were offered the Nebraska job). (Mutual respect)

A quick call to KBK got things moving and 6 days later they coordinated the release of the news to each adoring fanbase. No murmurs, no rumors, no backstabbing, no hoarding coaches and recruits. (Mutual respect)

Jordan Larson stepping down earlier this week was the only indication that something was up in the VB program, but it was all good, professional and for the good of the program that was bigger than any one person. (Mutual respect)

Nebraska won’t skip a beat with the coaching change and while there is potential to lose players to the portal with the coaching change - who in their right mind would leave the arguable highest profile VB program (and NIL) for an uncertain future with another program. The precision with which this was carried out with is admirable to say the least.

My point/question is: Did Jimmy lack the respect, maturity or professionalism in the way he handled things or were his intentions ill willed or pointed at something specific that we on the outside weren’t aware of?

Gonna put the horse back in the shed and let her heal. I just thought John Cook (and Troy Dannen and even Louisville and KBK gave a masterclass in the way to end a legacy and respect a university the legend Coach adores.

Coaches (young and old) should take note and act accordingly in the handling of their affairs.


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unless there is some point you are making here that i have completely missed... the situation with husker VB and Jackrabbits FB could not be more unalike. beyond that, the way that Jimmy leaving was handled from the Jacks, University, Athletic Dept, Justin Sell, remaining players, and anyone included on the Jacks end was basically a master class in replacing a coach who leaves very unexpectedly and doing it quickly and with an incredible amount of success

Coach Cook leaving is nothing at all like Jimmy leaving. it is very similar to Coach Stig retiring and those 2 situations were handled nearly identically- meaning organized, seemless, and with minimal pain and a complete maintenance of stability for the players and program.

Coach Cook retired. he did not leave for another school. he had ZERO need to attempt to take any of the players with him. he DID NOT leave for another school- he retired from UNL as a Husker legend.

what am i missing? these things could not be more different

do you really think AD Sell and everyone involved could have handled this better in some way? really in ANY way?

in exactly the moment that there was even the tiniest sniff of a thought that Jimmy could leave, fans and so-called experts alike began to come up with lists of worthy successors to continue to guide the program. WHO were the main names on that list?

Dan Jackson
Eric Eidsness
Zach Lujan
Kurtis Riggs
Brian Bergstrom
Josh Davis
Isaiah Jackson
Christian Smith

maybe i am forgetting a name or 2? maybe 3? but these names were DEFINITELY listed among the top 10-15 candidates for the job. you agree?

well what did the Jacks do? they hired NOT ONE but 4, yes FOUR, of the coaches from this list of potential head coaches!! Dan Jackson left money on the table to come back to a school that he loves. AD Sell and whoever else was involved got 3 people who were somewhere between very good to excellent potential head coaches to return to Brookings to be NOT the head coach, but assistant coaches.

this could not have been handled any better by SDSU and anyone involved. and as far as comparing the athletic departments of UNL and SDSU, it is really not much of a comparison. when is the last time that UNL was a 3x defending conference champion in FB, defending conference and tournament champ in both MBB and WBB, conference champ in VB, conference champ in softball, and conference tournament champ in soccer- or any type of success remotely similar? these are just the sports where we are the current defending champ. we have also had great seasons in XC, indoor and outdoor T and F, and wrestling

there is zero comparison between the two athletic depts. their VB program is the jewel of their entire athletic dept. they had a legend coach and he retired. they got a former player to come home to takeover the program. we did the same thing when presented with nearly the same scenario. i am happy they got that one right. i actually like and respect Husker athletics, but they have really done very little right for going on about 30 years now. nice to see them not stub their toe on a layup. they should not break their arm patting their own back on this one

[MontanaRabbit]

Jacks fan living in Husker world moment.

Don’t mean to bring out the dead horse to kick her around a little more, but here she goes:

John Cook decided last week that it “was time”. Coach Cook approached AD Dannen with the news and they each shared their thoughts on what was the best next step for the Husker VB program. (Mutual respect)

They each took a deep breath and shared the obvious. Kelly Busboom Kelly (past Husker athlete and assistant) was the natural choice. (KBK even had a clause in her Louisville contract that she wouldn’t owe a buyout if she were offered the Nebraska job). (Mutual respect)

A quick call to KBK got things moving and 6 days later they coordinated the release of the news to each adoring fanbase. No murmurs, no rumors, no backstabbing, no hoarding coaches and recruits. (Mutual respect)

Jordan Larson stepping down earlier this week was the only indication that something was up in the VB program, but it was all good, professional and for the good of the program that was bigger than any one person. (Mutual respect)

Nebraska won’t skip a beat with the coaching change and while there is potential to lose players to the portal with the coaching change - who in their right mind would leave the arguable highest profile VB program (and NIL) for an uncertain future with another program. The precision with which this was carried out with is admirable to say the least.

My point/question is: Did Jimmy lack the respect, maturity or professionalism in the way he handled things or were his intentions ill willed or pointed at something specific that we on the outside weren’t aware of?

Gonna put the horse back in the shed and let her heal. I just thought John Cook (and Troy Dannen and even Louisville and KBK gave a masterclass in the way to end a legacy and respect a university the legend Coach adores.

Coaches (young and old) should take note and act accordingly in the handling of their affairs.


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Big difference between this scenario and ours. John Cook is not taking another job where he needs to build something.

WSU has the potential to be a big dumpster fire. Jimmy likely felt he needed to assemble a foundation and his players here were known commodity. I don't like how it all went down. A full court press to take our players knowing full well we didn't have a coach to fight for us is pretty low. The quotes from Stig, Chase, and Quinten tell me all I need to know. If could have and should have been handled differently.

[DaRabits]

Jimmy is gone, the players are gone. He did what he had to do. Time to move on and get over ourselves.

[JackJD]

Montana Jackrabbit is correct: "WSU has the potential to be a big dumpster fire." I'd maybe go a step beyond that: there's a lot of smoke coming out of that dumpster. Can Coach Rogers get the fire under control? SDSU does not have the problems WSU is facing after (1) being discarded by their former PAC 12 mates; (2) losing a good basketball coach which caused 10 of the 15-man roster to enter the portal (thanks WSU!!! Oscar Cluff is a Jackrabbit!) and (3) and losing a good football coach.

We have one of the best Athletic Directors in Justin Sell; and he's assembled one of the best Athletic Administrations in college sports. The athletics results we have had for years shout about the condition of SDSU Athletics. In a remarkably fast response to losing our football coaching staff and much of our roster, Justin Sell made a brilliant hire in bringing Dan Jackson back and Coach Jackson, in turn, quickly assembled a staff with a great mix of experience (and knowledge about the SDSU culture) and new faces with impressive resumes.

I've decided to be in the camp that is still willing to appreciate the contribution Jimmy Rogers made to SDSU's present standing, both as a player and as a coach. I don't like what has happened but I'm resigned to thinking that's just what can happen in the present college football climate.

We still have very good athletes -- see the 2025 roster on the official athletics website. We are using the portal to our advantage and the opportunity to pick up more talent will improve because of the looming roster reductions impacting all of FBS. We'll still get our share of top SD and regional athletes coming out of high school.

Some may think SDSU football has been staggered by the events set in motion in late December. I initially wondered about how the program would recover from December 28. But when I read Chase Mason's take on the situation and his efforts and those of his teammate Quinten Christensen, I paused and had to think hard about when I've witnessed that kind of leadership in college athletes who could have easily bailed out. The recent events set in motion by a desperate WSU, may have brought out the kind of resolve we've seen from Mason and Christensen and no doubt, by all who decided to remain Jackrabbits. That team is going to be on a mission this fall.

I decided to stop thinking about WSU and all its problems. This fall, I will check WSU scores on ESPN and hope Coach Rogers can not only save that program, but take it to new heights. And why not? There's the old saying about 'blowing out someone's candle will not make your candle burn brighter.'

Da Rabbits, in only his second post in this forum (see the immediately preceding post) said it pretty well (regardless of whether you are angry at, or ambivalent about or accepting of the Coach Rogers change): "Jimmy is gone, the players are gone. He did what he had to do. Time to move on...."

I think it would be nice if this thread was allowed to die.