Doeren Exit Ends 14-Year Run at NC State

College football's spending arms race reached Raleigh this week, and NC State's coach of 14 years is out.

Dave Doeren is no longer NC State's head coach, ending a tenure that began with his arrival from Northern Illinois in December 2012. He had coached the No. 18 Huskies in the MAC Championship game the night before his introductory press conference, a double-overtime game Northern Illinois won. Former athletic director Debbie Yow introduced him then as a "man of integrity" and a "player's coach."

Doeren's record includes 10 seasons with seven or more wins and zero seasons reaching 10 wins. He skipped Northern Illinois' New Year's Six bowl appearance, the first in program history, to take the NC State job, and he never head-coached in one. His first season in Raleigh produced three wins.

His final press conference took place Oct. 27. "For 14 years I've had the total honor of working with a lot of amazing young men," Doeren said. "Coaching them, leading them, mentoring them, sharing highs and lows."

The economics of the sport figured into his departure. Roster turnover rose in the NIL era, and Doeren said the gap between programs shows up in budgets. "There's haves and have-nots when it comes to how much money schools have," he said. "It's sad to say, but that's where football is now."

NC State's attendance has run close to 100% in recent years, and the Wolfpack appeared in the AP Poll in each season from 2017 through 2024. Doeren added close to 100 wins to the program's record during his time there. Games from his tenure include a double-overtime upset of No. 9 Clemson, a win over No. 8 Georgia Tech, a 2021 comeback against North Carolina in which Devin Leary hit Emeka Emezie with 90 seconds left after Christopher Dunn recovered his own onside kick, and a double-overtime win over the Tar Heels the following year. NC State's winning streak against North Carolina, which dates to that 2022 game, continues. Doeren's record in the rivalry is 9-4.

His work extended past the sideline. He and his wife Sara started OnePack Empowered, a program and fund for students with executive functioning challenges at NC State, and he began an annual Victory Day event with GiGi's Playhouse, a local Down syndrome nonprofit. He wrote to a federal judge this year seeking eligibility for fifth-year defensive lineman Katron Evans, citing family hardships.

Doeren's final words to the program were about what comes next. "I leave here with no grudges," he said. "I completely love this place, and I want to see this place shock the world."

NC State has not named a successor.