How the Coaching Changes Around College Football Affect Dave Doeren
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RALEIGH — Late Sunday night, LSU decided to move on from head coach Brian Kelly. The Tigers became the eighth Power Four conference program to join the coaching carousel that has dominated the news cycle over the last five weeks.
Over the last two offseasons, NC State head coach Dave Doeren talked about each year being different in terms of his future after more than a decade leading the Wolfpack. As NC State sits with a 4-4 record just before Halloween, the questions about Doeren's ability to lead the program to ACC prominence are more abundant than ever.
Blunt Response to a Blunt Question
NC State came out of a much-needed bye week with hopes of going about .500 in the final five games of the season and securing a solid bowl berth. That process needed to get going during a road matchup against Pittsburgh. It never had a chance, as Pitt throttled Doeren's squad 53-34 for the first time in his tenure.
Doeren and the Wolfpack returned to Raleigh disappointed, but resolute in their mission to win as many football games as possible. During his Monday press conference, Doeren was asked directly if the firings around the sport and the team's progress were speeding up any end-of-year decision he planned on making come December. The 13-year veteran answered bluntly.
"No. I mean, (athletic director Boo Corrigan) has been ... I've said this before, he's been a great guy to work for. I don't worry about that," he said. "Those decisions aren't mine to make and I told the team this yesterday. I am going to give them everything I got."
Doeren stayed the course, promising to take things one week at a time, just as he has all season and throughout his entire career leading the Wolfpack program.
"There's a lot of football left. A lot of games. What happens at other schools has nothing to do with what's happening to me," he said. "And when decisions are made, they're made."
Increasing Frustrations
After each of the last two losses, Doeren seemed to be out of answers as to why his team couldn't string together all three phases and be competitive. On Monday, he described the team as a "broken record," as it continued to fail to play complementary football for the fourth time in five weeks during the Pitt loss. While the offensive woes are a major concern for the second season in a row, the defensive issues can be diagnosed more easily.
"We've had nine different guys on defense get injured throughout the season that were in our top 22," Doeren said. "When you have movement in your depth chart to injuries, not from competition, there's some lost learning and that's taking place."
Many teams deal with injuries across college football, but the Wolfpack also missed its primary coordinator for two weeks. DJ Eliot left the program after the death of his young daughter, forcing an already struggling defense to take the field without its leader. The tragic situation forced Doeren to look at things differently than before.
"When you lose people you love that are close to you, you have perspective about how fortunate you are to get to do the things get to not got to get to do the things that you're allowed to do," he said. "I'm allowed to work with a bunch of awesome kids at a great university in an awesome city and I'm going to relish that."
NC State's head coach has always been driven by the process and that strategy hasn't worked in 2025. Even so, he remained committed to doing so and seemed to have the support of the university despite the turbulent performance of the Wolfpack through the first eight games. However, he made his opinion known about the potential of an exit after the season.
"It's not pressure, it's a privilege to get to do what I do and at some point, if they want someone else to do it, then God bless them. But I'm going to take advantage of my opportunities as long as I get them," he said. "I'm going to fight for these kids because they're going to fight for me."
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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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