Less than a week after capping off their 2025 season with a third consecutive win, the Iowa State football program now has a new leader. After longtime head coach Matt Campbell left Ames to take over at Penn State, the Cyclones have hired Washington State head coach Jimmy Rogers as his replacement. ESPN's Pete Thamel broke the news via X, formerly Twitter.

“Sources: Jimmy Rogers is set to become the next coach at Iowa State,” Thamel broke on Friday evening. “He’s the first-year head coach at Washington State and won a national title at South Dakota State in 2023 as the head coach there.”

Rogers is finishing up his first year at the helm of the Washington State Cougars. After years of conference-realignment-related turmoil, the Cougars will settle into a reconfigured Pac-12 next. However, they'll need a new coach to guide them. After guiding South Dakota State to an FCS National Championship and an undefeated record in the first of two seasons at the helm, Rogers went 6-6 in his lone season with Washington State. Will he be able to make as big an impact on the Iowa State football program as his predecessor?

Article Continues Below

Matt Campbell leaves Iowa State football as a legend

Iowa football head coach Matt Campbell reacts from the side line during the second quarter against Kansas during the quarter in the senior day on Nov. 22, 2025, at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa
Mandatory Credit: © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Hired before the 2016 season, Campbell has spent the last ten seasons roaming the sidelines in Ames. The longtime Cyclones head coach has turned down many job overtures over the years, including reported interest from the NFL's New York Jets. However, it appears that after a decade in Iowa, Campbell is ready to lead one of college football's biggest programs in Penn State.

In Rogers, the Iowa State football program could have another coach on the rise. Campbell came to the Cyclones on the heels of a solid tenure with Toledo. While Rogers has only been a head coach at the FBS level for one season, it's clear that the Iowa State administration thinks he can be the next Campbell. If Rogers' tenure is just as successful as Campbell's, then the Iowa State football program could have found its next legendary leader.