What Impact Will NC State Firing Coach Dave Doeren Have on Cal This Week?

Seems that losing at Stanford can be detrimental to the survival of a college football coach.

NC State fired long-time head coach Dave Doeren on Saturday, hours after the Wolfpack lost 31-28 at Stanford the night before.

A year ago, Cal parted ways with Justin Wilcox the day after the Bears were beaten 31-10 by the Cardinal in the Big Game at Stanford.

So, Cal will face an NC State team led by interim coach Todd Goebbel when the teams meet Saturday at Raleigh.

Does playing an opponent immediately after a coaching change bode well for the Bears?

Not if recent history is an indicator.

Cal’s response to Wilcox’s departure was to regroup under interim coach Nick Rolovich and rise up to score a 38-35 upset victory over No. 21 SMU. In the video above, Rolovich talked about the Bears' response in his postgame news conference.

Cal players weren’t celebrating the firing of their old coach. Most of them, in fact, went out of their way to express their fondness for Wilcox.

But the change allowed them to hit the reset button, it eased tension and provided an opportunity to play with a nothing-to-lose mindset.

“After last week, it was hard,” Cal defensive lineman Aidan Keanaaina said after the win over SMU. “We had a lot of stuff happen surrounding the Cal program. We had one message from Coach Rolo: Play for each other.”

“We all felt down this week because of the situation,” wide receiver Jacob De Jesus added. “Hey man, let’s go do this for him but not only him, let’s go do it for each other. It was a bumpy road this season. I feel like the players (said) let’s go out here and have fun. We have nothing to lose.”

Bottom line: The NC State team that lost at Stanford may not resemble the squad the Bears will face.

Cal (3-5, 1-3) has its own challenges in the wake of a 59-20 loss to SMU on Saturday. The Bears led 20-17 at halftime, then were outscored 42-0 the rest of the way.

The Wolfpack expected more from this season than the 3-4 record they own, although they were pegged just seventh in the preseason ACC media poll. They are 1-3 in the conference games, including a 34-8 blowout loss at Virginia in their season opener.

NC State also lost 35-31 in non-conference play at Vanderbilt when quarterback CJ Bailey fumbled in the end zone on the game’s final play.

Bailey’s decision to return to NC State after last season was the source of optimism entering this season. But the Wolfpack couldn’t retain ACC rushing leader Hollywood Smothers, who transferred to Texas.

On Sunday, NC State also fired defensive coordinator DJ Eliot and announced that co-DC and safeties coach Charlton Warren will take over defensive play-calling duties.

For Doeren, who was 95-70 in his 14th season at NC State, the Stanford defeat was the final chapter. He had directed the Wolfpack to 10 bowl games and had just one losing season over the previous 12 years.

In some ways, his coaching tenure resembled that of Wilcox at Cal. Neither presided over terrible teams, but both failed to elevate their programs to the top of their conferences. Neither ever won 10 games or got his team to the league championship game.

The fourth-most tenured coach in FBS, Doeren departs with a $9.75 million buyout check.

Names being floated on various media sites as potential replacement candidates include former Notre Dame and LSU coach Brian Kelly, former NC State quarterback Philip Rivers and Wake Forest’s Jake Dickert.

Goebbel, 50, tutored Smothers last season as the Wolfpack’s running backs coach and also served as special teams coordinator. He has been at NC State since 2019 and is in his 28th year as a college coach.

A quarterback during his playing days, Goebbel was a three-year starter at Kent State then played his senior season at Northern Iowa. According to the NC State website, he played briefly for the Buffalo Destroyers of the Arena Football League.

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