Unfinished Business Drives Dave Doeren Into Year 14 at NC State
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Dave Doeren is heading into his 14th season at NC State, still the second-longest tenured head coach in the ACC, trailing only Clemson's Dabo Swinney. By that point of the career, for many coaches, there can sometimes be a sense of monotony or routine, especially with the lack of championship success for a coach like Doeren. However, the Pack's coach is hungrier than ever.
During the ACC Meetings at Amelia Island, Fla., the veteran leader of the Wolfpack sat down with multiple reporters to discuss the future of the sport, but more importantly, the future of the program and his commitment beyond 2026. In the past, Doeren has been unclear about the amount of time and interest he has left in coaching. That all seems to be changing in year 14, though.
A thirst for victory
During the 2025 season, Doeren found himself quelling a rumor that he had to be talked out of retiring after the 2024 campaign, which ended with an embarrassing loss to East Carolina in the Military Bowl. The coach debunked those rumors and fired back, claiming he'd regained his love of coaching with the 2025 roster and expressed a desire to win some said wasn't in him anymore. That hasn't changed during the offseason.
"What keeps me coming back is... There's meat on the bone," he told WRAL reporters on Tuesday. "I want to win a championship at NC State. I believe that I can recruit the caliber of player to do that and develop them. We've shown that we're as good as anybody in the country at development with young men, not just as players, but as men and you can see that by the way my former players come back."
That sentiment of having "meat on the bone" and unfinished business with the Wolfpack was a driving factor in the return of quarterback CJ Bailey for a third season under Doeren, as the coach believes they shared that passion for winning in Raleigh. However, it stretches even further back for Doeren, who has come so painfully close to getting to an ACC title game, but never made it all the way.
There's also the fact that Doeren has turned NC State into a home. The coach is open about his upbringing, in which he was part of a military family that moved around quite a bit. Even in the early days of his coaching career, Doeren was on the move. His leadership of the Wolfpack slowed things down.
"I love NC State. I love being in Raleigh. My family loves being in Raleigh," Doeren said. "We've built tremendous friends and it's the longest I've ever lived anywhere in my entire life."
Doeren joked that when coaches win in today's landscape, it's all about the next job, especially when they're young, but for others in their 50s like himself, all the talk is about retirement. Outside forces might think the leader of Wolfpack football might be on the way out, but he is invested and energized, with Bailey being a big reason why. This rejuvenated version of Doeren is a great sign for NC State.
"I've got a lot of energy, man, and I've said this many times, I had more fun coaching last year's team than I have in a long time," the coach said. "It was an awesome group of guys. It took a while to figure out the formula with the new things in college football... It's a lot. But we're starting to understand how to work within these spaces, not just as a football team, but as an NC State administration and all of the things that go with it... I like the way that things are going."
Doeren feels as though NC State has caught up with the times, in large part because he's been willing to adapt. With his improved comfort level leading the Wolfpack and a new sense of support from the administration, the coach might be entering his best years as the coach of the program, rather than steaming toward the twilight of his career, as some suggested when things got off the rails during the 8-5 finish to 2025.
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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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