WSU Cougars’ Jesse Bobbit to join Jimmy Rogers at Iowa State

PULLMAN — Jesse Bobbit may be staying at Washington State for a little bit, as interim coach for the Cougars’ bowl game, but he isn’t long for the Cougars.

Bobbit is set to follow former coach Jimmy Rogers to Iowa State, where he’ll join the staff as defensive coordinator, he said after Monday’s practice.

“Excited for that opportunity,” said Bobbit, who worked as Rogers’ defensive coordinator at WSU this fall. “It’s what’s best for myself, my wife, our family and just the career moving forward. I had a lot of great conversations with people here, but I’m excited for that journey. This ain’t done yet, and that’s why I’m here. I’m here to finish it off for these seniors and this team that I care about.”

Bobbit will join the Cyclones’ staff as the full-time defensive coordinator, he said, not co-defensive coordinator, which some reports had suggested. He has long been tied to Rogers, dating to their days at FCS South Dakota State, where he was Rogers’ defensive coordinator for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

But Bobbit and the Cougars’ current coaches are set to coach WSU in the Idaho Potato Bowl against Utah State, which is set for Dec. 22 in Boise. The team is scheduled to travel there Thursday.

Many of WSU’s current coaches followed Rogers from South Dakota State to WSU. That includes Bobbit, wide receivers coach Jake Menage, safeties coach Pete Menage, offensive line coach Taylor Lucas, defensive line coach Jalon Bibbs, special teams coordinator Pat Cashmore and tight ends coach Chris Meyers. Chief of staff Jon Shaeffer and general manager Ricky Ciccone have already followed Rogers to Iowa State.

The Cougars’ new coach is Kirby Moore, who accepted the job Friday and arrived in Pullman on Sunday. His introductory news conference is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday.

As of Monday, eight Cougars were known to be entering the transfer portal, which opens Jan. 2. Those players are eligible to play in the Idaho Potato Bowl, Bobbit said, but not all will. Redshirt freshman linebacker Anthony Palano, who started seven games this season, plans to play in the bowl game, Bobbit said.

Freshman wide receiver Carter Pabst, who plans to enter the portal, is not expected to play in the bowl game, a source told The Spokesman-Review. Third-year sophomore QB Jaxon Potter and redshirt freshman cornerback Kenny Worthy are also not expected to play, the source added.

“I told everyone on the team in one of my first meetings, ‘Hold off,’ ” Bobbit said. “The portal doesn’t open up till January 2, or whatever it is. There’s no reason to try drawing attention to yourself or whatever that may be. So the message has been, stick with your team. I did say, if that’s what you believe is best for you, to put out your intent to enter the portal, then you can do that and you’re allowed to play. But don’t make this a selfish thing. Make this about this group finishing in the right direction.”

When Rogers accepted the Iowa State job on Dec. 5, he asked Bobbit what he wanted to do, Bobbit said. That’s when he shared his thoughts and chatted with WSU interim athletic director Jon Haarlow, who named Bobbit the team’s interim coach.

“It made sense for me,” Bobbit said, “after some thought and a lot of conversations, to take that next step and go with coach Rogers.”

“There’s responsibilities in both roles,” Bobbit added. “Obviously, there’s a lot of phone calls back and forth between myself and Coach Rogers, and trying to build relationships there. But the most important relationships until I do officially get there in a couple weeks, is this team here, and continuing to build on those relationships, letting these guys know that I’m here for them, that we are here for them as a staff. We’re going to get this win together, and I’ll always be there for them, hopefully lifelong friendships is what we’ve talked about all the time. So it’s been fun.”