The weekend—and a Monday—has gone by without Washington State announcing their next head football coach. Since Jimmy Rogers’ unexpected decision on Friday, social media has been on fire with a slew of names people are suggesting. It seems every hour there’s a new candidate people are falling in love with or rolling their eyes at. As with any head coaching search, there are going to be the names that have serious traction and others that feel more whimsical.
Luke Falk
The name that has made the most noise amongst the WSU community has been former quarterback Luke Falk. What’s different about this one is that it was Falk himself who started this discussion. Falk took to multiple social media outlets to post a statement on his desire to be the next head coach at his alma mater.
Falk, of course, was the quarterback of the Cougars between 2014 and 2017. He got his first reps in November of 2014, taking over for an injured Connor Halliday against the USC Trojans. His first start was the following week, where he led WSU to a 39-32 victory over the Oregon State Beavers. Falk and the Cougars never looked back from that point, as Falk went on to be one of the best quarterbacks in program history, breaking multiple records.
Falk went on to play in three games for the New York Jets in 2019, starting in two.
After his playing days, Falk became the quarterbacks coach for the Wingate Bulldogs, a Division II school in North Carolina, for the 2023 season. In 2024, Falk was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa. He left the team for personal reasons before he got to call a play.
Falk would bring a level of passion to WSU that few candidates could match. You can see that desire and passion all over Falk’s social media statement. However, Falk lacks coaching experience.
Yes, Falk’s knowledge of Pullman and the program could definitely land him a role on this staff, but giving him the keys to the program with only a handful of months of coaching experience is an incredible risk.
Jason Eck
Jason Eck’s name was among the first to be thrown around on Friday evening after the news of Rogers’ departure.
WSU fans are quite familiar with Eck, who spent three seasons on the opposite side of the border with the Idaho Vandals. Eck helped build Idaho into a legitimate contender in the FCS, reaching the playoffs in all three seasons and the quarterfinals in his final two. In his first game as the Vandal coach in 2022, Eck nearly pulled off the upset of WSU, falling just short 24-17 in the final minute.
Last offseason, Eck left Idaho for the New Mexico Lobos. In his first season in Albuquerque, Eck instantly turned around the Lobos, who had won just five games in the prior season. The Lobos won nine games in 2025, including a 35-10 beatdown of UCLA in the Rose Bowl. New Mexico is now set to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Rate Bowl on December 26th.
Eck has proven he is a fantastic coach in four seasons at the collegiate level with the work he’s done at Idaho and New Mexico. While it would make sense for WSU to bring Eck back to the Palouse, it has been rumored that Eck has already declined the job. Eck also signed an extension with the Lobos on November 30th that upped his average salary to $1.75 million and keeps him around through 2030.
Jonathan Smith
Another name that was amongst the first to be thrown around was former Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith. Smith was fired from Michigan State after just two seasons in East Lansing, going 9-15.
In his time at Oregon State, his alma mater, he helped revived a down Beavers program into a legitimate force. Smith led OSU to a 25-13 record from 2021-2023 and getting them ranked as high at 11th in the nation in his final year in 2023.
His tenure at his alma mater ended in hard feelings as he left OSU, as the Pac-12 was disintegrating, for greener pastures. Smith learned the grass may not always be greener as he couldn’t even see his first recruiting class all the way through with the Spartans.
Smith has familiarity with the region from his time at OSU.
Brent Vigen
Brent Vigen was a very popular name last year when WSU was looking for their replacement for Jake Dickert. Vigen has been the head coach for the Montana State Bobcats since 2021, winning three Big Sky titles (2022, 2024, and 2025). The Bobcats are arguably in their best stretch in program history. Vigen has led the Bobcats to 58 wins and counting in his five seasons. The Bobcats are currently getting ready to play Stephen F. Austin in the FCS quarterfinals this Friday.
Prior to his time in Bozeman, Montana, Vigen spent 1998-2013 on the North Dakota State Bison staff—where he played tight end from 1993 to 1997—in a multitude of positions. He moved on to become the offensive coordinator at Wyoming from 2014 to 2020.
Vigen’s maintained success with Montana State makes him a very popular option to make the leap to the FBS level. While Montana isn’t quite the Pacific Northwest, it is still on the western side of the country, giving him some familiarity with the areas WSU has historically recruited in.
Johnny Nansen
One name that has been soaring up people’s shortlist has been Johnny Nansen.
Nansen, the current co-defensive coordinator at Texas, played as a linebacker at WSU from 1992 to 1996, including the famous 1994 Palouse Posse defense that won the Alamo Bowl. After his playing days in Pullman, Nansen has bounced around the college football landscape, spending time at Louisville, Montana State, Idaho State, Idaho, Washington, USC, UCLA, Arizona, and Texas. Through all of those stops, Nansen has yet to be a head coach. He did serve as the associate head coach at both Washington and USC.
Should WSU and Nansen decide to reunite, Nansen would bring a plethora of experience and possibly a handful of intriguing recruits with him from powerhouse Texas. This could be a home run of a hire.
Since Mike Leach’s departure, WSU has really honed in on defensive-minded coaches, with Jake Dickert and Jimmy Rogers both serving as defensive coordinators before elevating into head coaching roles. Nansen would follow that trend.
Jesse Bobbit
Staying on the topic of defensive coaches, WSU could elevate interim head coach Jesse Bobbit to a full-time head coach.
Bobbit has been the defensive coordinator under Rogers at both South Dakota State and WSU and looks to be keeping it that way after Iowa State announced he would be the co-defensive coordinator there with Ross Watson.
WSU still could convince Bobbit to stick around with a head coaching position. This option does feel a bit like something that would happen only if WSU struck out on their top outside candidates.
Kirby Moore
In his three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Missouri, the Tigers have averaged 32.5, 28.9, and 32.2 points per game under Kirby Moore. Those averages were good for 29th, 56th, and 32nd in the nation, respectively. He also spent one season as the OC as Fresno State in 2022 with his offense averaging 30.6 points.
Moore is still an up-and-coming coach in the college football world, having finished his playing career in 2013 as a wide receiver at Boise State. Moore has spent time at the College of Idaho, Washington, and Fresno State before landing at Missouri.
On top of his short, but impressive resume thus far as an OC, Moore also has local ties, having gone to Prosser High School.
Justin Wilcox
Justin Wilcox spent nine seasons at California before he was fired after the penultimate game of the 2025 season. Wilcox finished his time at Cal with a 48-55 record, never exceeding more than seven wins in a regular season.
His name began circulating when social media discovered a flight coming in from the Bay Area to Pullman on Sunday. The flight ended up being a charter for the Nevada basketball team that was playing in Pullman on Sunday.
Wilcox does bring a healthy amount of experience in the Pac, but the hire would be met with the same vibe as his resume: underwhelming.
Rick Neuheisel
Rick Neuheisel hasn’t coached at the collegiate level since UCLA in 2011. His most recent coaching experience was with the Arizona Hotshots of the AAF in 2019. He currently serves as an analyst for CBS.
Neuheisel also served as the head coach at Washington from 1999 to 2002. His tenure in Seattle ended in multiple controversies.
John Canzano was among the first to throw Neuheisel’s name into the sea of rumored candidates. Neuheisel is reportedly very interested in the job. While it’s unclear if the feeling is mutual from WSU, the rumor is that Rick would want to take the job and then pass the torch on to his son, Jerry, after a few years.
Hard pass.
