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Jan. 8—BROOKINGS — A few short years ago, the South Dakota State coaching staff was teeming with candidates to one day replace program patriarch John Stiegelmeier.
But as the Jackrabbits rose to FCS prominence and won consecutive national championships in 2022 and 2023, the rest of the college football world took notice.
Eric Eidsness and Dan Jackson took jobs at Northern Illinois. Jason Eck was named head coach of Idaho. Brian Bergstrom became head coach of Winona State, Rob Erickson at Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Northwestern scooped up young offensive coordinator Zach Lujan and defensive line coach Christian Smith.
Jimmy Rogers proved to be the right successor for Stiegelmeier, winning a national championship in his rookie season of 2023 and going 27-3 across two years, but when he somewhat surprisingly resigned shortly after Christmas to become the head coach of Washington State, it left the Jacks suddenly short of obvious candidates to serve as their next coach.
Rogers planned to take his entire staff with him to Wazzu, but none of those assistants stood out as immediate successors.
Would athletic director Justin Sell look to go outside the program, something that hasn’t been done in ages? After all, the rise of this program — regular sellouts at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, a dozen alums in the NFL, regular appearances on national TV, 13 consecutive playoff appearances — made this a job that would be coveted across the country.
But to anyone who’s followed the Jackrabbit program throughout the Division I era, there was one person who seemed like the obvious choice, and that was Dan Jackson.
He played for the Jacks — a linebacker during the transition from Division II to Division I.
He started his coaching career as an SDSU grad assistant, then worked his way up to position coach, special teams and recruiting…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/matt-zimmer-dan-jackson-man-004800397.html
Author : The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
Publish date : 2025-01-09 00:48:00
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