Zimmer: Dan Jackson is the right man for the job at South Dakota State

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.

ADVERTISEMENT 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 coordinator and eventually assistant head coach under Stiegelmeier.

ADVERTISEMENT Then Jackson got FBS experience, first at NIU and then in the SEC at Vanderbilt.

From there he got his first chance to be defensive coordinator, under Eck at Idaho, and was set to join that staff at New Mexico before Sell came calling.

Jackson was gone just long enough (leaving after the 2019 season) that there are no players left from his tenure, but those who did play for him, many of whom were instrumental in setting the stage for SDSU's national championship contention, could not be more thrilled that he's the new man in charge.

"It's a dream come true for him and honestly for a lot of guys who played for him," said Cade Johnson, a wide receiver who starred for the Jacks from 2016-2019 and later spent two years with the Seattle Seahawks.

"There were a lot of us who always kind of wanted to see him in that role.

He's going to do amazing things and keep that culture alive." Adds Jordan Brown, who came to SDSU as a wide receiver and left as an NFL cornerback under Jackson's tutelage: "To me, he's the perfect hire.

It's a full-circle moment for him and if you know Dan, you know Brookings has always been his home.

He bleeds blue and yellow." Did the Jacks have to hire someone with those colors coursing through their veins? Probably not.

If rumors are to be believed, the school could've had its pick of several already-successful FCS head coaches.

And with the infrastructure in place, there's little doubt that plenty of people out there would be capable of keeping the Rabbits near the top of the FCS hierarchy, whether they had ties to South Dakota or not.

But why not keep the culture in place? Why not pick an apple off the Stiegelmeier tree when it's been so fruitful, not just for SDSU but for other schools that have poached this program? "You're talking about a guy that knows South Dakota State football," Stiegelmeier said.

"He's not gonna have to come in and have to learn as much as a new guy would.

I think that's a huge positive.

Our athletic director understands that this program runs from the inside, and Dan has seen it from the inside and been a big part of it on the inside.

I'm a big believer in two prerequisites high character and great work ethic and Dan's got those things to the max." ADVERTISEMENT Jackson was made a full-time member of the staff in 2014, coaching the cornerbacks.

His salary was less than $30,000.

He made an immediate impact on the position, with Jimmie Forsythe and Je Ryan Butler establishing themselves as effective starting cornerbacks as the Jacks became a perennial playoff team, but Jackson didn't waste time showing he had head coach potential.

While some position coaches stay largely in the echo chamber of their own guys and their own responsibilities, Jackson often went above and beyond.

"He was always a guy who could connect with anyone in the locker room," Johnson said.

"I mean, I was a wide receiver and he was the cornerbacks coach, so he'd be coaching up guys to go against me in practice and the minute practice was over I could sit in his office for however long and just talk to him about my family or just things that didn't involve football.

That's what always stood out to me with Coach Jackson, was that he connected with the person, not the player.

Whether you were the starter or the fifth string he treated you the same and I think that's going to carry him a long way." Stiegelmeier picked up on that, too.

He said Jackson's willingness and ability to contribute ideas, opinions and philosophies was always there, and as he moved up the coaching chain it became more and more apparent he could someday occupy Stiegelmeier's office.

"Whatever business you're in, having care for everybody, interest in them, is a big part of being a good leader," Stiegelmeier said.

"It's like the CEO who knows the intern is having a baby that's the kind of guy Dan is, and yeah, that's really good for a head coach candidate but it's also just the sign of a good person, and Dan is a good person." But while cultivating relationships was a key part of Jackson's growth as a coach, his recruiting acumen was regarded as his calling card.

Jackson was responsible for several big recruiting wins at SDSU, making his home state of Nebraska a point of emphasis.

The Big Ten's Nebraska Cornhuskers relied heavily on walk-ons for years, and Jackson made inroads by aggressively pursuing high school players in Nebraska who grew up wanting to play for Big Red but weren't at the forefront of the Huskers' recruiting efforts.

Josh Manchigiah, a high school teammate of Johnson's who became a starting safety for SDSU, described Jackson's recruiting style as "relentless".

ADVERTISEMENT Of recruiting Nebraska, Jackson told me in 2018: "My recruiting pitch will always be the scholarship.

But the opportunity to play and compete and win is a big part of it.

Nebraska is taking their roster to over 100 players how can you look a kid in the face and tell him you have a shot? When you travel 70 guys to road games, how many guys are sitting at home when youre on the road? If those kids still want to do that just because they want to wear the letter jacket, thats fine, but then theyre not our kind of guy.

And what happens when Nebraska catches on, I asked him then.

"If Nebraska offers a guy Im gonna battle em tooth and nail, but at the end of the day, good for them," Jackson said.

"If what were doing creates more opportunities for kids in my home state then Im happy for those guys, and if the offer doesnt come, obviously weve made SDSU a pretty attractive alternative.

For now, though, Nebraska will have to wait, as the new coach is already occupied with recruiting his own players.

Several have followed Rogers to Washington State, among them running backs Angel Johnson, Maxwell Woods and Kirby Vorhees, defensive backs Colby Humphrey, Cale Reeder and Matt Durrance, linebacker Caleb Francl and defensive tackle Max Baloun.

Others are still in the transfer portal.

Jackson was announced as the new coach over a week ago and has yet to make a public appearance.

His introductory press conference is set for Friday, and the media has already been alerted it'll be quick.

The dude's busy.

And so far, he's already done some good work.

Among the Jackrabbits who have recommitted to SDSU are quarterback Chase Mason, receivers Grahm Goering, Lofton O'Groske, Jack Smith and Landon Dulaney, tight end David Alpers, offensive linemen Quinten Christensen, William Paepke and Sam Hagen, linebackers Joe Ollman, Chase Van Tol and Bryce Johnson, defensive linemen Aaron Wolfcale-Holsten, Logan Green, Reis Kirschenman and Dawson Ripperda and defensive backs Dontay Johnson, Noah Thompson, Abe Hoskins and Aydan Dautermann.

ADVERTISEMENT SDSU fans have been on edge ever since Rogers left town, but a fear of the program's imminent demise seems unfounded.

"Coach Jackson's built for this era of college football," said Brown, who was drafted by the Bengals in 2019.

"There's nobody out there that recruits like he does.

His energy and passion for the game of football is through the roof.

I know he's already locked in, working around the clock to build his staff and players to be a part of what the standard and expectation at SDSU has been set to for awhile now.

The mission hasn't changed.

Jackrabbit Nation is in good hands.".

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