The Dave Doeren era at NC State is over.
After 14 seasons in Raleigh, the Wolfpack have moved on from their head coach less than 24 hours after a 31-28 road loss at Stanford on Friday night. That defeat dropped NC State to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in ACC play, and it closed the book on a run that made Doeren the winningest coach in program history.
But if North Carolina fans are being honest, they’ll remember his NC State tenure for something else entirely.
He owned the rivalry.
Doeren went 9-4 against UNC during his time in Raleigh and won the last five meetings between the two in-state foes. That’s a striking level of control in a game with this much baggage and this much attention, especially across multiple UNC coaches and different Tar Heel rosters.
The recent stretch was especially painful for UNC. The Tar Heels last beat NC State in the 48-21 win in Chapel Hill in 2020. Since then, Doeren’s teams have found ways to keep North Carolina from getting over the hump, including the stunning comeback in Raleigh in 2021 and the double-overtime loss in Chapel Hill a year later.
For all the criticism Doeren drew over the years, his record against UNC was hard to ignore. It’s the kind of success that can shape how a tenure is remembered, and for Tar Heels fans, it was the part that stung most.
NC State said running backs coach and special teams coordinator Todd Goebbel will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the 2026 season while the school begins a national search for Doeren’s replacement.
That means the next North Carolina-NC State matchup later this season will look different. The familiar face who so often stood on the opposite sideline in the rivalry won’t be there when the Wolfpack travel to Chapel Hill to finish the regular season in a few weeks.
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McGill is expected to see a larger workload, which should help balance the attack and give Edwards Jr. some support in a game that could hinge on rhythm and efficiency. Shipp has also emerged as the primary target in the passing game, giving the Tar Heels a dependable connection if Edwards Jr. can keep trending in the right direction and build on the improvement he showed a week ago. [Read more 🡒]