Two days after NC State made its midseason coaching change, quarterback CJ Bailey stepped to the microphone with the same message the Wolfpack are trying to carry into the stretch run: stay steady, stay together, and keep moving.
Bailey said he learned of Dave Doeren’s firing in a phone call from Doeren himself. When the team gathered, Doeren addressed the players directly, and Bailey said the moment landed heavily.
“It was unbelievable to me,” Bailey said, later adding that he had not expected anything like that to happen in the middle of the season.
NC State named Todd Goebbel interim head coach after parting with Doeren in his 14th season. Bailey described Goebbel as a straight shooter who has already made an impression inside the building.
“He brought complete leadership,” Bailey said, noting that Goebbel has been open with players, available for conversation and unwilling to soften hard truths. “And he’s on this role, and he’s grateful for the role, and he’s just been all on with us and all in with us, and helping us out in any which way, all open arms, and we could come in.”
The Wolfpack quarterback also made clear that the next five weeks will demand more from the locker room than usual. Bailey said his own leadership has been tested through a season full of changes and tense moments, and he believes this is the time for the players to take over the energy in the room.
“This is definitely the week for me and the guys to step up,” he said. “Be the voice.
Be the energy. Be the guys to take this program to another level right here.”
For Bailey, the plan is simple: don’t get trapped looking too far ahead. He said the team’s leadership council has been pushing a day-by-day approach, with the focus on stacking good practices instead of staring at the finish line.
“Think about having the best Tuesday,” he said. “Think about having the best Wednesday.”
Bailey said the message from Doeren to the team was clear before the coach said goodbye. Doeren was emotional, Bailey said, but the instruction was direct: win the final five games.
“Go in and try our best to win these five games for him,” Bailey said. “That’s what he want. Nothing less, nothing more.”
He also said Doeren and coach Roper were part of why he stayed, and that belief in the staff remains intact even after the change. Bailey said he continues to trust Doeren, Goebbel and the other voices around the program, while keeping the focus on positivity.
“It is very tough,” he said. “But like I said, like it’s a [UNCLEAR] mentality.”
Bailey pointed to the support system around the team, including coach Roper, coach Phillips and coach Ruffin McNeill, as NC State tries to navigate the transition. He said their experience matters now more than ever, especially with coaching change after coaching change a real part of life inside the building.
“So, like, I trust their word, and I trust those guys,” Bailey said. “And the whole team is leaning on our coaching staff, and the whole team is leaning on each other right now. And it’s still One Pack, One Goal.”
The immediate task is Cal on Saturday at noon at Carter-Finley Stadium. Bailey said NC State wants to show that the Wolfpack can still compete at a high level and “put the world on notice again.”
“We’re still game planning for Cal right now,” Bailey said, adding that the team is looking to win that game.
He said a victory would do plenty for a locker room coming off two hard losses, boosting confidence and reinforcing the group’s belief in what it can still accomplish. But even with the questions swirling around the program, Bailey said he isn’t looking beyond the next matchup.
“I’m just worried about tomorrow,” he said. “Just winning one game at a time, week to week.”
In Other News...
NC State Just Got The Recruiting Jolt Fans Feared After Doeren
Dave Doerens firing has already started to ripple through NC States 2027 recruiting class, and the first real sign of turbulence came quickly. Three-star offensive tackle Conner Rutherford backed out of his pledge, a notable hit because he was the fourth-highest-ranked commitment in a class that still sits at 18 verbal pledges, ranked 43rd nationally and 10th in the ACC.
For the Wolfpack, the bigger issue is what happens next. Coaching changes almost always put a class on shaky ground, and this one is no exception, with more decommitments possible as recruits reassess the situation. The speculation around who takes over, including chatter about Philip Rivers, only adds another layer of uncertainty for a class that suddenly looks far less settled than it did just days ago. [Read more 🡒]
NC States Coaching Search Just Took A Very Different Turn
NC States coaching search has already moved into unusual territory after the school parted ways with Dave Doeren and is facing an estimated $10 million buyout. With the opening now on the board, the conversation around the job has shifted well beyond the usual list of sitting assistants and coordinators, and Baylors parallel search has only added to the sense that both programs are weighing a different kind of hire as they try to reset.
One idea circulating around the Wolfpacks opening is Philip Rivers, the former NC State star whose name carries obvious weight in Raleigh even without any college head-coaching background. The logic behind a move like that is less about traditional coaching pedigree and more about the modern realities of roster building and fan engagement, where a familiar face can potentially help a school generate the kind of support that matters as much as anything on the field. [Read more 🡒]
CBS Just Gave NC State Fans A Fresh Respect Debate
Matt Norlanders annual Top 101 from CBS Sports has already handed NC State fans a fresh talking point, because the Wolfpack landed at No. 72, a spot that sits well below where several other projection systems see them. With a new coach making the roster harder to read, Norlander acknowledged the uncertainty around this group and pointed to some of the key players in the mix, but his placement still stands out next to the broader industry view.
The gap is what makes this worth watching, especially since CBSs own preseason bracketology has NC State safely in the NCAA tournament field as a 12-seed. When one outlet is projecting the Pack as a March team and another is slotting them much lower than most analytics models, it turns the early season into a built-in respect test, and it also sharpens the contrast with North Carolinas standing in the same conversation. [Read more 🡒]