Iowa State Football Hit Home Runs With Coordinator Hire

The Iowa State Cyclones football team is going to look entirely different in 2026 than it did at the end of the 2025 season.

When Matt Campbell announced he was leaving to accept the job with the Penn State Nittany Lions, he brought a ton of coaches with him. More than 50 players entered the transfer portal as well, with a large chunk of them following to Penn State.

That left the new head coach, Jimmy Rogers, in a tough spot. There are zero starting players from last year’s Cyclones team coming back in 2026, leaving a lot of uncertainty surrounding the team heading into the summer.

However, there is one thing for sure about Iowa State: this coaching staff is excellent. If Iowa State is going to continue the standard that Campbell set and eventually surpass it, the coaching staff will play a major role.

Iowa State has built strong coaching staff around Jimmy Rogers

Iowa State football head coach Jimmy Rogers talks to media. — Iowa State football head coach Jimmy Rogers talks to media during NFL football pro-day at Bergstrom Football Complex on March 24, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Rogers has had success everywhere he has gone as a head coach. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits went 27-3 under him with a national championship. The Washington State Cougars exceeded all expectations, going 6-6 under Rogers and winning a bowl game under interim head coach Jesse Bobbitt.

Bobbitt followed Rogers to Ames from Pullman, taking over as defensive coordinator. He has an impressive track record of making his system work regardless of who is in it. Cyclones fans should be excited about that unit, which should feature more consistent pass rush with the alignment change.

On the other side of the ball, taking over as offensive coordinator is Tyler Roehl. He brings NFL experience after serving as tight ends coach on Dan Campbell’s staff with the Detroit Lions in 2025. Before that, he was with Iowa State as the running backs coach in 2024.

Roehl wants to set the tone with toughness and aggressiveness, looking to get the running game going. This is an inexperienced group, especially at the Power-4 level, at every positional group, but there is some intriguing talent to work with.

Offense has some dynamic playmakers

Tyler Roehl speaking to media. — Tyler Roehl caption | Alyssa Hertel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Quarterback Jaylen Raynor will be running the show with Cameron Pettaway, Aiden Flora and Arnold Barnes III at running back. Cody Jackson, Omari Hayes, Evan Boyd, Carter Pabst, Dominic Overby and Jordyn Bailey are atop the wide receiver depth chart.

There aren’t many household names, but this coaching staff has all the tools to extract the most talent out of this group of overlooked players.

The 2026 season may be a tough one with how many new faces there are in place, but Rogers has a track record of overcoming the odds, and it could very well happen again with Iowa State.

Add us as a preferred source on Google