Jacob Dickert (born August 23, 1983) is an American college football coach. He is the head coach at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

. Prior to this, he served as defensive coordinator in Pullman, beginning in 2020. Dickert attended school and played football at the

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and grants associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees, as well a ...

, and has coached at various colleges and universities since his graduation in 2007.

Playing career

Dickert began his high school career at Oconto High School in

Oconto, Wisconsin Oconto is a city in Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,609 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located partially within the town of Oconto. History Oconto is h ...

. His father, Jeffrey Dickert, was the superintendent of the Oconto School District. The family moved to

Kohler, Wisconsin Kohler is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Sheboygan River. The population was 2,120 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Originally called Ri ...

, for Jake's senior year after Jeffrey took the job of superintendent there, and Jake finished his high school career at Kohler High School. The

, then coached by

John Miech John Miech (born ) is an American former college football coach. He was the head football coach for Whitnall High School from 1979 to 1981, Jefferson High School from 1982 to 1984, and the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point from 1988 to 201 ...

, recruited Dickert to play

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, where he backed up future

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

player Scott Krause. He converted to wide receiver for the 2005 season. His senior year in 2006 was interrupted by a case of

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...

, but he returned to the playing field two weeks after surgery. Dickert's seven receptions per game that year led the

Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) is a college athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. In women's gymnastics, it competes alongside Division I and II members, as the NCAA sponsors a single champions ...

(WIAC) and he was named to the second team all-conference.

Coaching career

Dickert graduated from Stevens Point in 2007 and joined Miech's staff as a graduate assistant for a year. He then moved to

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as th ...

for the 2008 season, also as a graduate assistant. Head coach

Craig Bohl Craig Philip Bohl (born July 27, 1958) is an American college football coach and former player, currently the head football coach at the University of Wyoming. He was previously the head coach at North Dakota State University in Fargo from 2003 ...

promoted him to safeties' coach in 2009. He left in 2011 to become special teams coordinator at

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

under

Ed Meierkort Ed Meierkort (born March 24, 1959) is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Wisconsin–Stout from 1993 to 2003 and University of South Dakota from 2004 to 2011, compiling a career college footb ...

, in what turned out to be his last year as head coach. Dickert replaced Chuck Morrell, who had left to become the head coach at

Montana Tech Montana Technological University, popularly known as Montana Tech, is a public university in Butte, Montana. Founded in 1900 as the Montana State School of Mines, the university became affiliated with the University of Montana in 1994. After unde ...

. South Dakota fired Meierkort after the 2011 season. Dickert spent a year on

Tony Samuel Marion Anthony Samuel (born November 14, 1955) is an American college football coach and former player. He served as head football coach at New Mexico State University (NMSU) from 1997 to 2004 and Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) fro ...

's staff at Southeast Missouri State coaching defensive backs before returning to the state of South Dakota in 2013 to become defensive coordinator at

Augustana University Augustana University is a private Lutheran university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The university identifies 1860 as the year of its founding, the same as its Rock Island, Illinois Swedish-heritage sister school, Augustana College. It derives ...

under first-year head coach Jerry Olszewski. Under Dickert, Augustana ranked third in total defense in the

Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the western Midwestern United States. Nine of its ...

, and at the end of the season

Minnesota State Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

hired him away to become defensive coordinator there. Dickert coached the defense for the 2014 and 2015 seasons under head coach

Todd Hoffner Todd Hoffner (born June 17, 1966) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at the Minnesota State University, Mankato, a position he held from 2008 to 2011 and resumed in 2014. Hoffner was the ...

. Minnesota State compiled a 24–3 record over those two seasons, including losing the 2014

NCAA Division II Football Championship The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination tournament with eight teams. The tourn ...

to CSU–Pueblo. After two successful seasons, Dickert departed to become safeties coach at

South Dakota State South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

under long-time head coach

John Stiegelmeier John Stiegelmeier (born February 7, 1957) is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at South Dakota State University, a position he has held since 1997. Stiegelmeier was hired as the 20th head coach of the South Da ...

and defensive coordinator

Clint Brown Clint Brown is a New Zealand television sports presenter for Sky Sport New Zealand and Prime New Zealand and was a former presenter for TV3 New Zealand – the latter of which he reported for 18 years. Early life Brown lived in Hamilton unt ...

. Dickert departed after the 2016 season to become safeties coach at

the University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

. The move reunited him with Craig Bohl, now Wyoming's head coach but previously the head coach at North Dakota State from 2003 to 2013. In 2019, Wyoming promoted Dickert to defensive coordinator after

Scottie Hazelton Scott Gregory Hazelton (born December 19, 1973) is an American football coach. He was recently the defensive coordinator at Michigan State University. Hazelton was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Kansas State University in 2019 ...

departed for the same job at

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. In 2020, Dickert received his first

Power Five The Power Five conferences are the five most prominent and highest-earning athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, the highest level of collegiate ...

coaching position when he was hired as defensive coordinator by new

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washingto ...

head coach

Nick Rolovich Nicholas Robert Rolovich ( ; born February 16, 1979) is an American football coach and former player, who was most recently the head football coach at Washington State University (WSU). Rolovich majored in economics at the University of Hawaii, ...

. Wyoming assistants AJ Cooper and John Richardson accompanied Dickert in his move to Pullman. In October 2021, Washington State fired Rolovich and four assistant coaches, including Richardson, for refusing to comply with the state's COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Dickert then took over as acting head coach. On November 27, 2021, Washington State announced the naming of Dickert as their permanent head coach; the promotion came a day after the Cougars finished the regular season with a resounding 40–13 win over in-state rival

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in the

Apple Cup The Apple Cup is an American college football rivalry game between the University of Washington Huskies and Washington State University Cougars, the two largest universities in the state of Washington. Both are members of the North Division of ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

Washington State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickert, Jake 1983 births Living people American football wide receivers Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings football coaches Minnesota State Mavericks football coaches North Dakota State Bison football coaches South Dakota Coyotes football coaches South Dakota State Jackrabbits football coaches Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football coaches Washington State Cougars football coaches Wisconsin–Stevens Point Pointers football coaches Wisconsin–Stevens Point Pointers football players Wyoming Cowboys football coaches People from Kohler, Wisconsin Coaches of American football from Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin