Fcs Football Central

FCS Football Podcast: South Dakota State Head Coach Dan Jackson

Zachary McKinnell

South Dakota State head coach Dan Jackson
South Dakota State head coach Dan Jackson / Dave Eggen (Inertia/SDSU Athletics)
In this story:

Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon

South Dakota State head coach Dan Jackson joined FCS Football Central's Zach McKinnell ahead of the 2025 college football season.

Jackson was named the head coach at South Dakota State on Dec. 31. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at Idaho under head coach Jason Eck. He was expected to join Eck's staff at New Mexico in the same role.

It is a much-anticipated return to Brookings for Jackson, who played linebacker for the Jackrabbits from 2003-05. He started his coaching career as a defensive assistant in 2012 before being promoted to defensive backs coach in 2014. After five seasons as a DB coach, Jackson was promoted to assistant head coach in 2019.

He accepted an assistant role at Northern Illinois for the 2020 season, spending two seasons with the Huskies. Jackson also spent two seasons as the defensive backs coach at Vanderbilt before his one-year stint at Idaho.

Jackson discusses his transition to South Dakota State and why it was the perfect time to step into a head coaching role. He talks about how much has changed at South Dakota State since his last stint as an assistant and the challenges he faced in building a staff this offseason.

He also shares how John Stiegelmeier, Thomas Hammock, Clark Lea, and Jason Eck have impacted his coaching career. Jackson offers his thoughts on the challenges of sustaining a championship culture and his recruiting approach in today's age of college football.

More FCS Football News

Final Grades For Every FCS Prospects At The 2025 Shrine Bowl
Final Grades For Every FCS Prospect At The 2025 Senior Bowl
FCS Football: Top 25 Teams Of The Frisco Era
FCS Football: Highest-Graded Defensive Players In 2024
FCS Football: Highest-Graded Offensive Players In 2024

Follow FCS Football Central on social media for ongoing coverage of FCS football, including on X, Facebook, and YouTube.

Published
Zachary McKinnell
ZACHARY MCKINNELL

Zach McKinnell is the Founder and Senior Editor of FCS Football Central. He is also a columnist for HERO Sports and a contributor for Athlon Sports. In 2022, he became an official voter in the FCS Stats Perform Top-25. He is a former contributor for Vols Wire, part of the USA TODAY Sports Network, and Fly War Eagle on FanSided. Zach graduated from Auburn University in 2018.

Home/MVFC