Who is Dave Doeren? NC State fires head coach in the middle of his 14th season after 3-4 start and now owes him $10.3 million

North Carolina State have fired their head coach Dave Doerenon October 24, Saturday, the school announced. The coach was in the middle of his 14th season. The announcement came less than a day after they fell to 3-4 after a 31-28 loss to Stanford on Friday.

NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan said, “I want to thank Coach Doeren for his service and contributions to NC State, and for always representing the university with pride.” Corrigan further added that he appreciated Doeren’s leadership during his 14-year long tenure and “the passion he brought to the role”. “We wish Dave, Sara and his family the best in the future,” Corrigan said.

NC State owes Doeren $10.3 million

The school now owes Doeren about $10.3 million remaining in his contract with them, according to ESPN. This includes a $9.75 million base salary and any remaining payments. The amount is subject to offset and mitigation, according to his contract. The head coach had three years remaining in the contract with NC State.

According to ESPN, Doeren took over NC State in 2013 and went on to become the school’s winningest coach with a 95-70 record. He has the fourth longest tenure as a coach in the FBS. The school has also fired general manager Andy Vaughn after the loss to Stanford.

Who is Dave Doeren?

The 54 year old American college football coach has previously coached at Northern Illinois University from 2011 to 2012. He was also an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Kansas, University of Southern California and University of Montana.

He himself played at Drake University. Doeren went on to hold his first assistant coach position at his alma mater. However his first coaching job was at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in Kansas. There he coached wide receivers and defensive line.

Doeren is married and has three children. Spending the most time with NC State he secured 10 winning seasons and 11 bowl appearances, including a 9-4 mark against North Carolina. He also coached the team to four nine-win seasons, but they could not secure the 10-win mark, which was only met once in the team’s history. The team could never play the ACC championship under Doeren.

NC State are having a tough season

The team entered the season with high expectations, coming back with quarterback CJ Bailey but struggled immediately. They were outmatched at Virginia with a 34-8 defeat in August 2026, then lost at Vanderbilt losing two of their first three games.

They improved to 3-2, but went on to give up 69 combined points during their next losses. The team now holds the second-worst scoring defence in the ACC for the season. They have given away 28.1 points each game. NC State is at No. 16 in conference standings.

Who replaces Doeren?

The school is expected to go through a full coaching search. For the remainder of the regular season backs coach and special teams coordinator Todd Goebbel will serve as the interim coach.

Goebbel will have to coach the team through five remaining games with Cal, Duke Florida State, Syracuse and its rival North Carolina. They need to win at least three of the remaining games to be eligible for an appearance at the bowl game, which they have failed to qualify for since 2019.