Friday morning was a homecoming in Club 71 in Dana J Dykhouse Stadium for Dan Jackson, who was introduced as South Dakota State football’s 22nd head coach in program history. A graphic with Jackson’s face and the message “Welcome Home” was projected on every TV inside Club 71.
But alas, you can’t move forward without addressing the recent past. South Dakota State president Barry Dunn and athletic director Justin Sell opened the introductory press conference describing what a whirlwind the past couple weeks have been since Jimmy Rogers announced he was accepting the head coach position at Washington State on Dec. 28, taking virtually the entire coaching staff and some of the more talented players on the roster with him.
“As we are all well aware of, intercollegiate athletics are in new and uncharted waters, and SDSU is not immune from the challenges that come during these times,” Dunn said. “So to perhaps the most stable and extremely successful football program in America, on December 28, change came to us.”
Dunn proceeded to wish Rogers, the coaching staff, and student-athletes that left the best in their new challenge. Sell, who was tasked with finding the next head coach, said that he found himself leaning on South Dakota State’s foundation in a compressed timeline that ended with Jackson being chosen after just three days.
“There have been thousands of people before us that have come to this university and have done amazing things and helped move us forward, and they’ve helped build our foundation,” Sell said. “But this place is bigger than any one person. It’s bigger than any one event, and we come out of this thing, we are galvanized, and that’s important for people to know and understand.”
Enter Dan Jackson, who was in Albuquerque, New Mexico when the job opened up, trying to figure out where he was going to live after just being named New Mexico’s defensive coordinator. Once he heard the head coach position at South Dakota State was available, Jackson said he believed he would ultimately get the call and knew he would be ready for it.
After officially being hired as the South Dakota State football coach on Dec. 31, Jackson rejoins the program at arguably its most unstable point in decades. After being led by John Stiegelmeier for 25 years, Rogers was hand-picked to take over and granted a loaded roster full of talented sixth-year seniors. That won’t be the case for Jackson.
As of Jan. 6, 247 sports reported 14 SDSU players had transferred to Washington State and that doesn’t include former Walter Payton award winner and starting quarterback Mark Gronowski, who transferred to Iowa, or last season’s top receiver Griffin Wilde, who transferred to Northwestern. Jackson will also have to build his staff from the ground up, although he’s already made some additions to his staff. Still, Jackson said he’s undaunted by the tall task in front of him. In fact, he’s excited.
“I look at things as an opportunity,” Jackson said Friday morning. “I don’t want it to be easy. I get enjoyment from doing things that people say you can’t do. Really, I love a challenge.
“South Dakota State, (in) 2012 we weren’t a power yet. … I love writing letters at 2 a.m. to Jordan Brown, and Taryn Christion, and Dallas Goedert. I love driving through small towns in South Dakota, Nebraska, to find somebody that nobody else wants. … Those are things that motivate me.”
Jackson said the landscape of college athletics may continue to change over the years but one thing that will remain the same is the standard at South Dakota State.
“Our goal will always be to win a national championship,” he said. “Our goal will always be to be the best football program in the country. We will evolve, and we will grow, and we will thrive in the new landscape of college football.”
What stood out to Jackson throughout the process was something he already knew: that South Dakota State is such a special place. He thanked the JFPA and alumni for reaching out to student-athletes and asking them to be patient and give the new coaching staff a chance. Two key figures chief among those urging patience on social media were Stiegelmeier and former South Dakota State player and current Green Bay Packer Tucker Kraft. Jackson said Kraft called him on Saturday at 10 a.m. a day before his Packers faced the Chicago Bears just to check in on him.
“Those are the type of guys that have come through this place,” Jackson said. “And South Dakota State is their home … and I’m extremely thankful for their support.”
Jackson isn’t one for predictions. He doesn’t know exactly what the team will look like or how good they’ll be when the season starts in August, but he’s already chomping at the bit to get players back and attack each day. Jackson also said he’s excited to see players who didn’t have as big of an opportunity last season compete for playing time. He believes that there’s more than enough talent on the roster to compete and win football games, and perhaps more importantly he’s excited for the team to start gelling.
“We have exactly what we need,” he said. “We have the guys that are on our football team that are going to continue to be able to push it forward.”
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota State introduces Dan Jackson as new football head coach
