PULLMAN, Wash. — WSU head football coach Jake Dickert has left the school to take the head coaching job at Wake Forest University.
Rumors began swirling on social media yesterday that Dickert was among three finalists for the Wake Forest job and that a flight from Pullman Moscow Airport to Winston Salem, NC, was scheduled for Wednesday.
This puts an end to a tumultuous three-and-a-half-year tenure in Pullman for Dickert.
He first took over as head coach of the Cougs in 2020, following Nick Rolovich's firing due to not complying with a statewide vaccine mandate.
Since Dickert took over, he has led WSU to a 23-20 record, two Apple Cup victories and two bowl games. He has also had three starting quarterbacks, and three different sets of coordinators and has had to guide WSU through conference realignment.
He helped oversee the development of star quarterbacks Cameron Ward and John Mateer and helped produce several NFL players including Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley, Chiefs safety Jaden Hicks, Rams defensive lineman Brennan Jackson and Panthers cornerback Chau Smith-Wade.
The news comes mere days following Mateer's decision to enter the transfer portal and just one day after the Cougs also lost star linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah to the portal as well.
Washington State canceled practice today and we are waiting for an announcement of a media briefing from school officials expected this afternoon.
WSU has now lost its head coach, both coordinators, its running backs coach and at least 22 players to the transfer portal, including 10 starters.
For now, the Cougs are still scheduled to play in the DirecTV Holiday Bowl on December 27 in San Diego against Syracuse.
On Wednesday morning WSU Athletic Director Anne McCoy released a statement on Dickert's departure. It said, "This morning, Jake informed us that he has accepted an offer outside of Washington State and will not be leading our team at the upcoming DirecTV Holiday Bowl. The search for Cougar Football's next head coach will begin immediately, and current assistant Pete Kaligis will serve as Acting Head Coach for the bowl game. This team has worked so hard and accomplished a great deal this year, they deserve to end the season with a memorable bowl game experience."
This is a developing story.
