Wake Forest is signing Jake Dickert to a "long term" contract extension, the program announced Thursday. Terms were not disclosed.
Of course, the accomplishment here is Wake getting Dickert to sign, not Dickert getting Wake to offer an extension. Hired away from Washington State with no ties to the ACC or the East Coast, Dickert is 17-5 in nearly two full seasons in Winston-Salem.
"Wake Forest University is committed to football success at the highest level and Coach Dickert has done an extraordinary job of inspiring belief among our players, fans and the entire Demon Deacon community," said AD John Currie. "I am grateful for his and Candice's commitment and trust and especially appreciate President Rodriguez and our Board leadership recognizing that now was the time to go ahead and eliminate any outside speculation so that our team and Deacon Nation can put all our energy into the stretch run of this special season."
Wake Forest went 9-4 in 2025, and now stands at 8-1 with a No. 13 CFP ranking. The Demon Deacons' only loss on the year came to Miami, who was No. 1 in the country until losing at Notre Dame last week, and they followed it up with a 30-27 win at then-No. 16 Louisville.
Wake Forest move toward clinching a berth in the ACC Championship with a win over SMU on Saturday (noon ET, ESPN).
"Candice and I are thankful to President Rodriguez, John Currie, our trustees, the Wake Forest family and this community for the support they have shown our family, coaching staff and players since we arrived in Winston-Salem," Dickert said. "We are excited about the future of Wake Forest Football and taking our program to new heights. Our players are proud to represent Wake Forest and embody what Built in the Dark is all about. We are just getting started."
Dickert has quickly built a reputation as one of the top "more with less" coaches in major college football. A former Wisconsin-Stevens Point wide receiver, Dickert was a defensive coach at the divisional level until landing at Wyoming in 2017. He became the head coach at Washington State in 2021 and led the Cougars to an 8-4 season despite being left behind after the Pac-12 collapsed around them in 2024. His first season at Wake Forest saw a 5-win improvement from the '24 Deacons squad.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.