The Dave Doeren Era Continues for NC State
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Dave Doeren is here to stay for NC State football. After finishing the 2025 regular season with a 7-5 record, athletic director Boo Corrigan announced Doeren would be back for his 14th year leading the Wolfpack, per a statement sent Sunday to the The Associated Press.
The head coach deflected retirement and hot seat rumors throughout the middle portion of the season, as NC State tumbled from a 3-0 start to 4-4 as the calendar shifted to November. Doeren pulled another rabbit out of his hat, though, going 3-1 in the final month of the season to secure an 11th trip to a postseason bowl game. It was enough to convince Corrigan and himself to keep it going.
Doeren finished the ACC campaign in style, beating UNC for the fifth-straight time. It was also his first win over NFL icon Bill Belichick, whose disastrous first season in Chapel Hill mercifully came to an end at the hands of the Wolfpack. Doeren's success in the rivalry that means so much to NC State was enough to earn another year, but the decision stemmed more from his success dragging the Pack to seven wins.
On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, host and lead beat writer Tucker Sennett breaks down what Doeren's 14th season will look like and why he is back for another year leading the Wolfpack.
Watch the episode
Doeren on beating the Tar Heels again
NC State's 42-19 win over the Tar Heels capped off the regular season for the Wolfpack. Doeren clearly wanted to prove his Wolfpack was the more physical team in the rivalry and worked hard to establish the run in the victory. Instead of using his running backs though, Doeren turned to freshman quarterback Will Wilson, who rushed for four touchdowns in the win.
"He rushed for 400 yards in high school, so it's not like a secret that he could run," Doeren said. "We recruited a guy who can throw the ball and run the ball, and that's what we got. We were hopeful that he'd be able to do what he's doing for us... We got into spring ball and saw how competitive he was."
The win over Belichick certainly meant a lot for Doeren as well. The two had a relationship stretching far back to Belichick's NFL days, but Doeren proved himself against a legend in the coaching ranks. That only helped his cause for being the Wolfpack's coach in 2026.
"I don't know if it's special. It's definitely something that motivated me. I have a lot of respect for Bill," Doeren said. "How do you not? He's one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time and so definitely, as a coach, when you're competing... Coaches want to beat each other. There was a pep in my step this week for sure... I wanted that win."
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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