Jimmy Rogers was introduced as the newest head coach of the Cyclones football team Monday morning. Rogers is the 34th person to be named head coach at Iowa State.
With the departure of 10 year head coach Matt Campbell, Rogers will take the lead at a program that has had a major upward shift in the past decade.
Shortly after the announcement was made, Rogers and his family landed in Ames and were welcomed by some die-hard fans. Since then, Rogers has had the opportunity to meet with the team and get familiar with the facilities.
“We just acted like ‘Yeah, gonna beat the weather,’ I do want to say thank you to the crew that helped us with that, though, getting us landed,” Rogers said. “Those fans that came out to just welcome us with open arms in what was a blizzard, that was awesome.”
One person who is especially thankful for landing Rogers is Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard, who landed a new head coach despite battling a toxic and chaotic coaching carousel.
“I feel really grateful that I’m sitting up here today with him [Rogers] sitting next to me, and I say that because college athletics right now is not a good place,” Pollard said.
After an entire day Friday filled with constant updates that felt never-ending, the Cyclones were able to replace the winningest head coach in school history within minutes, leaving fans and everyone involved with minimal unpredictability regarding the situation.
“What we just went through shouldn’t be happening that way, but we’re forced for it to be that way, to try and bring some kind of calmness to turbulent times,” Pollard said. “The fact that we’re here today, 72 hours after all this started, that we’ve brought certainty to the future of Iowa State football is incredible.”
Before getting into the actual football talk, Rogers felt it was necessary to give Campbell his flowers for what he did with the Cyclones and the impact he has had on the program.
“I would say a large part of what Iowa State is and what the football program has become is because of Matt Campbell,” Rogers said. “I’m thankful for him and that friendship.”
Campbell left behind a team that won eight games in 2025 and a large part of the group that won 11 games and made it to the Big 12 championship in 2024. Now, it’s up to Rogers and his team to try and retain some of those players while building a roster around them.
“You know, I spoke to the team last night, obviously just told them just give us a shot, hear us out,” Rogers said. “I want to get to know them. I’m not gonna expect them to immediately love me, I’m a normal human being.”
The timing of the coaching change was not ideal for anyone involved, either. With the Cyclones opting out of a bowl game, and final exams ending Dec. 18, students have around a month off before they need to be back in Ames.
“Our focus will be on retention and getting to know these players,” Rogers said. “We’re all doing that in a really quick time around the holidays, then we don’t see them for a month, right? The school date to start back is January 20th, the portal opens January 2nd, it will be open for 14 days. I’m going to have roughly seven days to get to know them and who they are and try to connect with them and build a relationship, all within a week.”
Rogers won’t be the only new face in Ames, as he continues to build a staff around him. Campbell brought defensive coordinator Jon Heacock and offensive line coach Ryan Clanton with him to Penn State, so some new guys will need to fill those roles.
“Several of these staff members that will be joining us, which I’ll hit on later when the full release comes out, a lot of them have been with me for years,” Rogers said. “I’ll be adding some faces that I haven’t worked with but have known for years and have competed against.”
As for the actual X’s and O’s of changes on the field, Rogers plans to make a major shift in the defensive scheme. The offense will look similar, but the defense will have a brand new look.
“We’re a four man structure, but we can get into an odd front up front and get into what we consider a spinner package, using a very athletic, longer D-end to kind of play as a hybrid linebacker in that system,” Rogers said. “And then offensively, one that is also multiple, using many different personnels and being physical up front.”
The four down linemen will be a drastic change from the 3-3-5 defense that Heacock has run since 2017 and has not changed since. With no updates on the status of offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, he could still be the playcaller next season.
With the announcement of Rogers being the new head coach still being recent, there are a lot of changes to be made before the Cyclones are ready to go Sept. 5, 2026, against Southeast Missouri State.
