Report: WSU interim coach to leave after bowl game

WSU Cougars interim football coach Jesse Bobbit will lead the Cougs in their bowl game, but he will be following former head coach Jimmy Rogers to Iowa State afterwards.

WSU Cougars hire Washington native Kirby Moore as head coach

According to The Spokesman-Review’s Greg Woods, Bobbit on Monday said he’d be leaving the Palouse to become the Cyclones’ defensive coordinator after coaching WSU in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 22 against the Utah State Aggies, who will be a member of the new-look Pac-12 with the Cougars next season.

Rogers was hired as the new head coach of Iowa State last week. After Rogers left, interim WSU athletic director Jon Haarlow told 247sports.com the remaining coaching staff would stay intact until after the bowl.

Bobbit’s departure to join Rogers at Iowa State doesn’t come as much of surprise. He played linebacker at South Dakota State from 2013-17 while Rogers was the linebackers coach. After Rogers became head coach at SDSU in 2023, Bobbit was his defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for two seasons before following him to Pullman to fill the same roles. He also spent two more seasons working alongside Rogers on the SDSU coaching staff in 2019 and 2022.

Additionally, Bobbit was out of the running to be WSU’s next head coach, as the school announced Friday it hired Prosser native and former Missouri offensive coordinator Kirby Moore to replace Rogers. Presumably, Moore would want to bring in his own staff.

Bobbit, who was also a graduate assistant and quality control coach at WSU in 2020 and 2021, helped put together a stout defense after some early struggles in his only season with the Cougars. After allowing over 59 points in back-to-back games early in the season, the Cougs surrendered just 12.6 points per game over their final eight regular-season contest. In total, WSU held seven of its 12 opponents to 13 points or fewer, including four to single digits, and allowed no more than 24 points in their three cross-country road games against top-25 opponents.

At 6-6, the Cougars will look to clinch their second consecutive winning campaign and fourth in the past five seasons with a win in their bowl game.

Jimmy Rogers introduced at Iowa State, addresses leaving WSU Cougars

Related

WSU Cougars name their starting QB for 2026 football seasonMacdonald: Ex-Coug Cam Ward ‘in command’ at Seahawks-Titans joint practiceCourt halts extra year of NCAA eligibility for 2022 H.S. gradsWhat To Know: Changes for the 2026 college football seasonJim Mora takes on another rebuild as Colorado State joins revamped Pac-12UW, WSU, Seattle U will play in Seattle Holiday Classic hoops doubleheader