South Dakota State head football coach Dan Jackson announced Wednesday the hiring of three assistant coaches on the offensive side of the ball.
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South Dakota State head football coach Dan Jackson announced Wednesday the hiring of three assistant coaches on the offensive side of the ball.
Joining Jackson’s first Jackrabbit coaching staff are:
“The great thing about these guys from an offensive standpoint that they will bring a high level of creativity and some unique approaches while still keeping a lot of the same scheme and verbiage for our players.” Jackson said. “We’re not going to skip a beat.”
The group of four hires mark the first for Jackson, who was named the 22nd head coach in program history on Dec. 31.
“We wouldn’t have the progress that we’ve made these first few days without the tremendous support of the administration at all levels of the university, as well as the community,” Jackson said. “The standards of success that we’ve had here in the past aren’t going to change and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be able to continue to move this program forward.”
Eidsness served as the Jackrabbits’ offensive coordinator on two previous occasions — from 1999 until 2003 while SDSU competed at the NCAA Division II level and again from 2010-18. The Jackrabbits made seven consecutive appearances in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs to close out his second go-around, including back-to-back semifinal berths in 2017 and 2018. He also held the title of associate head coach under John Stiegelmeier from 2015-18.
“Eric brings a ton of experience on the offensive side of the ball and I’m really fired up to have a South Dakotan on staff who knows everything about the past, present and future of Jackrabbit football,” Jackson said. “The offense that we’ve run at South Dakota State for the last 10-plus years really originated with Eric, and each offensive coordinator since has put his own twist and approach on it.”
The Jackrabbits put up prolific numbers in Eidsness’s previous stints, setting numerous school records both as a team and individually, including new standards for scoring (521 and 553 points) and total offense (6,141 and 6,247 yards) in both 2017 and 2018.
Individually, he worked with the top two rushers in program history (Josh Ranek, 6,744 yards from 1997-2001 and Zach Zenner, 6,548 yards from 2011-14), as well as two of the top three passers (career leader Taryn Christion, 11,535 yards from 2015-18 and Austin Sumner, 9,458 yards from 2011-14). Career receiving leader Jake Wieneke (288 receptions, 5,157 yards, 59 touchdowns from 2014-17) and All-America tight end Dallas Goedert (198-2,988-21) also flourished in Eidsness-led offenses.
Most recently, Eidsness worked in similar coaching roles for six seasons at Northern Illinois. The Huskies played in three bowl games, including posting wins in the Camilla Bowl in 2023 and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl this past season.
A Sioux Falls native, Eidsness was head coach at Southwest Minnesota State from 2004-09.
Another coach with previous ties to South Dakota State football will return under new head coach Dan Jackson with the hiring of Brian Bergstrom as the Jackrabbits’ defensive coordinator and safeties coach.
“The things that I love about Bergy are that he is a high-level teacher, he is highly organized, and the defense is going to play extremely hard and be structured,” Jackson said “ I also think he does a great job of coaching the coaches. As a coordinator, that’s really important and I think Brian is the perfect man for the job.”
Bergstrom first joined the SDSU coaching staff in 2017 as safeties coach and was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2019, positions he held through the 2021 season under John Stiegelmeier. SDSU qualified for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs each of his five seasons in Brookings, including a national championship game appearance during the 2020-21 spring season and semifinal berths in 2017, 2018 and the 2021 fall campaign.
The 2021 Jackrabbit defense led the FCS ranks with 21 interceptions.
For the past three seasons, Bergstrom served as head coach at Winona State. He led the Warriors to an 18-16 overall record, highlighted by an appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs his first season in 2022.
A native of Burnsville, Minnesota, Bergstrom has coached in the Upper Midwest throughout his career, including stops as defensive coordinator at his alma mater, Gustavus Adolphus, from 2006-10, followed by Augustana from 2013-16. He also coached at Crown College in 2005 and mentored defensive backs at Minnetonka High School in the Twin Cities metro area in 2011 and 2012.
A former Jackrabbit tight end, Benedetto returns to Brookings after a successful tenure as a high school coach in South Dakota.
“Vince did a phenomenal job as a player and early in his coaching career as a graduate assistant before transitioning into leading one of the most dominant high school programs in the state,” Jackson stated. “His experience in South Dakota and in the state of Illinois will be an asset for our program moving forward.
For the past four seasons, Benedetto led Sioux Falls Jefferson High School to a 29-14 record, highlighted by winning the 2022 Class 11AAA state championship in only the program’s second year of existence. He also served as head coach for two seasons at West Central High School, leading the Trojans to a pair of state semifinal appearances.
A native of Crystal Lake, Illinois, Benedetto lettered for the Jackrabbits from 2010-13, then began his coaching career at SDSU as a graduate assistant/quality control coach in spring 2014.
Cooper will work with the Jackrabbit running backs after serving in a similar role at Idaho during the 2024 season.
“Deontae is going to bring a high-energy coaching approach and I was extremely impressed with how he developed our running backs at Idaho last year,” Jackson said. “He’s also played at the highest levels, and I couldn’t be more excited to have him bring those experiences to our staff.”
From 2019-23, Cooper was head coach at Highline High School in Burien, Washington, where his squads went undefeated in league play three consecutive seasons and advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals in 2022 and quarterfinals in 2023.
Cooper overcame a series of injuries to rush for 555 yards and three touchdowns over two seasons at the University of Washington. He was selected as a team captain for one season and later earned a tryout with the Oakland Raiders before embarking on his coaching career as a recruiting assistant at Washington in 2017.
