NC State Fires Dave Doeren: How 14 Years Ended at 3–4

NC State fired Dave Doeren on Sunday, October 25, two days after a 31–28 loss at Stanford dropped the Wolfpack to 3–4 and 1–3 in the ACC. After 14 seasons and the most wins in program history, he's gone with five games left. Here's how it got to that point.

How 2026 came apart

• Aug. 29, at Virginia: L 34–8. A 26-point loss in the opener.
• Sept. 11, Richmond: W 73–0.
• Sept. 19, at Vanderbilt: L 35–31. This was the one that hurt. A winnable non-conference game against an SEC team, lost by four, and the season never really recovered.
• Sept. 26, App State: W 41–31.
• Oct. 3, Louisville: W 31–28. For a week, it looked like things had steadied.
• Oct. 10, Wake Forest: L 38–14. At home, by 24.
• Oct. 23, at Stanford: L 31–28. The last game.

The 3–4 record flatters the team. Take out the 73–0 win over FCS Richmond and NC State was outscored 197–153 by its six FBS opponents, about seven points a game. In ACC play it was 131–81, more than 12 points a game.

Not one bad season

The firing came after one bad half-season, but the numbers had been sliding for three years:

• 2020–2023: 34–16 overall, 23–11 in the ACC. Four straight seasons of eight or more wins.
• 2024 to the firing: 17–16 overall, 8–12 in the ACC. That's a 6–7 season, a decent 8–5 recovery, and now 3–4.

That 8–5 year in 2025 bought time. 2026 used it up.

October, again

If one month defined Doeren's tenure, it was October. His teams went 37–15 in September and 20–27 in October over 14 years. They were at their best before the ACC schedule took over and fell back once it did. This year followed the script: 1–2 in October, and the second loss ended his tenure.

What he leaves behind

98–74, the most wins in school history. 10 winning seasons, 10 bowl games, and 9–4 against North Carolina. But also 52–58 in ACC games, no ACC Championship Game appearance, and 2–12 against top-10 teams. Whether that makes him the best coach NC State has had is a question we already took on in September: Is Dave Doeren the Best Coach NC State Has Had?

The short version: he made NC State a program that goes to a bowl every year. He didn't make it one that contends for the league.

What's next

An interim staff finishes the season: California tonight, then Duke and Syracuse at home, then at Florida State and at North Carolina. At 3–4, the Wolfpack need three wins in those five games to reach six and bowl eligibility.

The bar for the next coach is the one Doeren never cleared. Bowl games and wins over the Tar Heels are already expected. The next coach has to win more ACC games than they lose and put NC State in the ACC title game.

Records are from our NC State game history (every game since 1946; see the Doeren record page).