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Washington State football now needs to go head coach hunting, as Wake Forest moved swiftly to tab Jake Dickert as the newest Demon Deacons' football coach Wednesday.
Dickert's departure is the latest high-profile Pac-12 coaching loss to another conference. Kalen DeBoer jumped from Washington to Alabama last year. Even Jonathan Smith jammed from his alma mater, Oregon State, for Michigan State and the Big 10.
Washington State faces an even more critical time for its football program. The Cougars will soon have more conference opponents in 2026. Schools like Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, and San Diego State are future conference foes. Wazzu can still cement its case as the new, dominating power in the upcoming revamped Pac-12 as one of the leftover veterans.
Who should replace Jake Dickert? Names include former Pac-12 coaches
The focus is more on 2025 and who takes over as Washington State is fresh off an 8-4 campaign under Dickert. The added focus in Pullman is who can navigate the Cougars out of a completely watered-down conference and '25 schedule.
Will this program attract some strong names? Wazzu is already looking vastly different ahead of next season.
John Mateer will take snaps at Oklahoma. Top running back Wayshawn Parker dipped to the portal as well. Both established themselves as pivotal Dickert pieces. But here are some names to monitor in replacing Dickert.
Jim Mora, Connecticut head coach
Washington State can go for the familiar face from the Pac-12 years. This hire brings a former UCLA head coach back to the West.
Mora has quietly rebuilt himself in Connecticut. He's gone 17-20 in three seasons while operating with a similar schedule to the 2024 Cougars (Huskies have played as an independent since 2020). But he took a program that was once 1-11 and delivered two bowl seasons — including the 8-4 team heading off to the Fenway Bowl.
Mora unfortunately fizzled out the last time he was in the Pacific time zone at UCLA. His final Bruins team fell to 4-8. But this Wazzu opening looks appealing for a current head coach. Mora replacing Dickert shouldn't be ruled out.
Brent Vigen, Montana State head coach
Vigen's name got linked to the Fresno State opening before Matt Entz claimed the head coaching job.
The Montana State head coach may have a stronger chance at landing this gig over Mora, even though Vigen is more of a Football Championship Subdivision name. Vigen has the Bobcats 14-0 heading into the FCS semifinals. He's also 46-9 overall as a head coach.
Vigen, though, is often credited for luring in an under-recruited quarterback named Josh Allen to Wyoming back in 2015. The 49-year-old looks like the next strongest FCS coach to jump to the Football Bowl Subdivision realm next to Entz and Jason Eck (New Mexico). Wazzu emerges as the best chance for Vigen to deliver the leap.
Jeff Choate, Nevada head coach
Choate got the Wolf Pack to become highly competitive in taking over a rebuild. Nevada won one more game compared to the last two seasons of Ken Wilson.
Doubtful, Choate would consider leaving Reno immediately. However, he's a former Mike Leach assistant in Pullman. Choate served as linebackers coach for WSU in 2012.
Choate is 31-32 as a head coach. He produced one semifinalist for Montana State in 2019.
Dana Holgorsen, Nebraska offensive coordinator
Sticking with the theme of past Leach disciples, Holgorsen is another past head coach who looks attractive for this opening.
Holgorsen delivered 10 bowl-eligible teams at his past stops in Houston and West Virginia. He's 92-69 overall as head coach.
He struggled at Houston, though. Three of his UH teams fell below .500 — so that presents a dilemma for Wazzu. Regardless, he's a coaching veteran nearing 100 career wins. And he's got ties to one of the more popular Wazzu coaches ever.
David Shaw, former Stanford head coach
I've got to add another past successful Pac-12 head coach. And one who looks like he wants another crack at head coaching.
Shaw applied and interviewed for the Denver Broncos in 2023 before Sean Payton claimed the gig. Most fans remember the successful run he delivered at Stanford with 96 career wins.
Although his final Cardinal teams stumbled to 3-9 the final two years, Shaw got accused of failing to adjust to the new era of college football — particularly going after transfer portal talent.
This time, he'd have lesser academic standards to work with compared to his Palo Alto days if he came here. Washington State can, in return, tap into his experience of producing bowl teams as Jake Dickert's potential successor.
