Three Memorable Dave Doeren Moments From 2025
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RALEIGH — NC State head coach Dave Doeren wrapped up his 13th season with a win in the 2025 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl, throttling Memphis 31-7 as the Wolfpack put together one of its best defensive performances of the year.
There were both ups and downs during the 2025 season for Doeren and NC State, with the coach at the center of several of them. Whether it was denying rumors of a potential retirement or leading NC State in one of the program's more memorable upsets in history, Doeren made the most of the eventful campaign for his Wolfpack.
Three memorable moments for Doeren
Not going anywhere and an upset
As NC State's season spiraled due to a plethora of injuries and a rough spot in performance, rumors and speculation of Dave Doeren's potential retirement began to swirl once again. Said rumors already dominated the news cycle after a turbulent 2024 season in Raleigh that ended with the ugly brawl at the 2025 Military Bowl. The tension reached a new high in the days before NC State took on No. 8 Georgia Tech, with Doeren outright addressing the rumors.
"I think about winning games, trying to find ways to get better, trying to help this football team, trying to help this university, trying to help my coaches, trying to not get my wife mad at me," Doeren said on October 30. "That's what I think about. Do I have plans down the road someday to retire? Sure. But I don't have any plans to do that, I'm going to keep coaching. I've got four years left on my contract."
With the rumors put to rest, Doeren went back to getting his team ready for a Georgia Tech offense that had been a buzzsaw through the first eight weeks of the season. The motivated head coach spread that feeling to his team and helped the Wolfpack pick up a win over the No. 8 team in the country.
"When we play complimentary football, 11-man football, guys doing their job and answering the call when they need to, we're a really good football team and it's unfortunate it's taken us a while to play a whole game that way," Doeren said.
"Cheers, Go Pack."
The Wolfpack needed one win in two weeks to achieve bowl eligibility. It came into a home matchup against Florida State viewed as the underdog, but thoroughly dominated the Seminoles on the defensive side of the ball. After the win, Doeren's signature red solo cup made an appearance in the postgame press conference, reminding many Wolfpack fans of classic memories of Doeren after big wins.
Near the end of the postgame press conference, Doeren was asked about the team and program's pride and whether that helped the group stay the course as it dealt with adversity during the middle portion of the season. After a lengthy answer about his team's fight, stating that there is "no quit" within the program, Doeren ended the press conference with a viral moment.
NC State coach Dave Doeren was reflective and fired up after his injury-laden team beat Florida State.
— Noah Fleischman (@fleischman_noah) November 22, 2025
"I expect a crazy ass crowd next week. I mean crazy ... against the baby blue. Make sure you show up."
This clip is worth the watch: pic.twitter.com/1BPFpDV3hR
The Birthday incident
Doeren and the Wolfpack faced the Miami Hurricanes on Nov. 15 in South Florida. The game went far from the way NC State wanted it to, as the Hurricanes dominated the Pack 41-7, with the lone touchdown for Doeren's squad coming in the fourth quarter. Doeren's birthday is Dec. 3, almost a month later. Despite this fact, one reporter tried to "lighten the mood" after the loss by including that fact before his question. That attempt was unsuccessful.
This might have been the weirdest press conference question of all time.
— Noah Fleischman (@fleischman_noah) November 16, 2025
A Miami reporter opened NC State coach Dave Doeren's Q&A with "Your birthday is like December 3, right?" to try to "lighten the mood."
He followed up on it later, which Doeren didn't like after the loss: pic.twitter.com/LVbdmSeCEf
Doeren's actual birthday celebration came on National Signing Day, when he welcomed the next group of Wolfpack players and flipped a member of the UNC recruiting class.
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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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