Wake Forest agreed to a contract extension with Jake Dickert this week, locking in the coach after a fast start that has put the Demon Deacons on the edge of a potential College Football Playoff push.
The extension comes at a time when Dickert had become one of the more prominent names in the coaching-carousel conversation. Wake Forest’s success this season helped change the conversation around a program that usually lives on the fringe of the sport’s consciousness, but now sits at 8-1 and No. 13 in the polls.
Why Wake Forest moved now
John Currie said Wake Forest University is committed to football success at the highest level and credited Dickert with inspiring belief among players, fans and the entire Demon Deacon community. He also said he appreciated Dickert’s and Candice’s commitment and trust, along with President Rodriguez and the Board leadership for recognizing that now was the time to eliminate outside speculation so the team and Deacon Nation could focus on the stretch run of a special season.
That timing matters because Dickert had become a sought-after candidate elsewhere. Wake Forest’s decision removes a high-profile coach from the market and signals that the school wants to keep the current momentum in place rather than risk distraction as the season reaches its biggest games.
How Dickert got here
Dickert, 43, first became a head coach in October 2021 after Washington State fired Nick Rolovich. Over the next 3 1/2 seasons, he guided Washington State to a 23-20 record before moving on to Wake Forest, where he has now led the program for two seasons.
This year has been the most important stretch yet. Wake Forest is 8-1, ranked 13th, and positioned to challenge for a College Football Playoff berth under the expanded 24-team format. Dickert has also continued to show the confidence that has become part of his public profile, including his blunt view of what conference play should mean when he said, “To not say we’re going to have conference champions, why do we have conferences?”
He also acknowledged the larger picture around the team’s success, saying, “I know there’s a lot of things that go into all that.” That sums up why the extension makes sense: Wake Forest is winning, the program has real postseason ambition, and the school decided it was time to keep its coach in Winston-Salem for the foreseeable future.
For a program that rarely spends this much time in the national spotlight, the move gives Wake Forest stability at the exact moment it is trying to turn a strong season into something bigger.
