Who could replace Doeren at NC State, what are the roster, recruiting priorities?

Dave Doeren’s tenure at NC State was too long and too consistent to distill down to one moment or turning point. But his final year with the Wolfpack will be forever remembered for what happened Sept. 19 at Vanderbilt, when quarterback CJ Bailey took the snap with six seconds to play and a 3-point lead.

Bailey’s ill-fated decision to move forward and take on contact, resulting in a fumble that Vanderbilt recovered for the go-ahead touchdown with one second left, sent NC State’s season into a spiral from which it could never recover. Even though the player clearly erred, moments like those fall on the head coach. The Wolfpack split their next four games, and following a road loss at Stanford on Friday night, the school fired Doeren, its coach for the past 14 seasons. He finished his tenure 98-73 at the school — the winningest coach in team history — but 52-57 in ACC play.

Doeren’s tenure in Raleigh was undeniably steady and mostly good, even though he never won an elusive 10th game or got NC State to the ACC championship game. After going 3-9 in his debut season, he had the Wolfpack bowl-eligible in 11 of the next 12 years. Doeren had four nine-win seasons and four eight-win campaigns, including 2025, and had three AP Top 25 finishes. Ultimately, he couldn’t lead NC State to its first ACC title since 1979 and possibly hung around a few years too long, but Doeren’s tenure was a success overall and should be remembered as such.

Where does NC State go from here? NC State is a football place, more so than its surrounding ACC brethren. Wolfpack fans fill seats and support the program. They desperately want to see NC State in a contending position and the Wolfpack way overdue for a breakthrough.

Coaching changes provide opportunities to increase investment in programs. Doeren recruited well throughout his tenure, but NC State also has seen really good players depart, including running back Hollywood Smothers, offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak and wide receivers Noah Rogers and Terrell Anderson from the 2025 team.

NC State must make a hire with the coaching chops and excitement to attract and retain talent. While local ties might be preferred after Doeren, who had not coached in the Carolinas before, NC State also can cast a fairly wide net. — Adam Rittenberg

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Top candidates | Personnel priorities
Key recruits

Five candidates for the job

Philip Rivers: The name recognition alone would bring more attention — and likely more money — to NC State, where Rivers was a record-setting quarterback before a long and productive NFL career. Since 2021, Rivers has been coaching high school football in Alabama, including his son Gunner, an SC Next 300 prospect who is committed to NC State for 2027. The father-son combination could appeal to NC State, especially if Rivers, 44, can build a strong staff. Unconventional hires are becoming more common, especially if the areas around the coach are properly addressed. Rivers interviewed for the Buffalo Bills’ head-coaching job in January.

Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield: If NC State wants a homegrown coach and is able to look past middling results in Cincinnati, Satterfield should gain some real consideration. He’s a former ACC Coach of the Year at Louisville who always seemed like a better fit somewhere in the Carolinas. Satterfield just recorded his biggest win at Cincinnati, a 37-24 home upset of No. 8 Texas Tech. The Hillsborough, North Carolina, native played quarterback at Appalachian State and thrived there as coach, winning three Sun Belt titles. The 53-year-old would not need much acclimating and would bring plenty of experience overseeing programs. He’s 91-64 as an FBS coach.

Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann: Kirby Smart’s longtime protege seems ready to lead his own program, and would not leave a great situation at Georgia for just any opportunity. He was a serious candidate for the vacancy at nearby North Carolina in 2024 before Bill Belichick emerged. Schumann is just 36 but has been with Smart for the past decade at Georgia, after six years as a student assistant/graduate assistant for Nick Saban at Alabama. He grew up in Georgia and attended high school in Texas. Schumann has been affiliated with six national championship teams.

Memphis coach Charles Huff: He would bring a fresh approach to Raleigh after successful head-coaching stops at multiple Group of 6 programs, and assistant experience from Alabama, Penn State and elsewhere. Huff, 43, hasn’t coached in the ACC but played college football in Virginia (Hampton) and grew up in Maryland. He’s 45-27 at Marshall, Southern Miss and Memphis with a Sun Belt title in 2024. He worked under James Franklin at multiple stops but gained arguably his most significant experience with Saban as Alabama’s running backs coach in 2019 and 2020.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer: Sometimes a preemptive move is the right one for a coach feeling some heat, as those who have been around the business, like Beamer, can attest. Beamer loves South Carolina and might be safe (beating No. 11 Tennessee on Saturday won’t hurt), but the results haven’t been trending well since the end of the 2024 season. He knows the region very well from his roots at Virginia Tech, multiple stops at South Carolina and two seasons at Georgia, and has been a strong recruiter and evaluator. Beamer, 49, led South Carolina to AP Top 25 finishes in 2022 and 2024. — Rittenberg

Five important players to retain

QB CJ Bailey: Bailey had to become NC State’s QB1 three games into his true freshman season and has produced the second-most total yards (7,952) and total touchdowns (66) in the ACC since 2024. The former three-star recruit from South Florida took a nice step forward as a sophomore last season with 3,105 passing yards on 69% passing, 31 total TDs and the second-best QBR (78.1) in the conference.

He turned down portal interest to re-sign with the Wolfpack and keep building in 2026 and has had an up-and-down junior season so far, including a 373-yard performance in an upset win over Louisville, an 84-yard day in the season-opening loss to Virginia and a game-losing fumble on the road at Vanderbilt. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes from here.

The next head coach could certainly prioritize Bailey and look at his résumé and potential as one of the most appealing aspects of this job, especially with two more years of eligibility ahead. But this midseason coaching change also means the tampering starts now for Bailey. If he does decide to hit the open market, Bailey will have good options.

OL Spike Sowells Jr.: Sowells going down with a season-ending injury in NC State’s second game of the year was a brutal loss for its offensive line. The 6-foot-2, 312-pound sophomore earned Freshman All-America honors in 2025 while primarily playing right guard and took over as the starting center in his second year. Sowells allowed just four pressures and one sack on 210 snaps in pass protection last season with a 1.6% blown block rate in the run game. He’ll be a critical player to keep for the new staff with three more years of eligibility.

WR Keenan Jackson: The Wolfpack lost their top three pass catchers in Justin Joly, Terrell Anderson and Noah Rogers after the 2025 season, but that created plenty of opportunity for Jackson to step up. The 6-foot-3, 194-pound junior has turned 30 receptions into 456 yards and six touchdowns through seven games with 100-yard performances against Vanderbilt and Richmond. The retention of Jackson (two more years) and tight end Preston Douglas (three) should be major priorities if possible.

LB Popo Aguirre: NC State knew it was getting a veteran defender with ACC experience in Aguirre when he transferred in after three years at Miami, but his production has exceeded expectations. Aguirre was the ACC’s leading tackler entering Saturday with 61 tackles, including 27 solo stops, and has three fumble recoveries on the year for the Wolfpack. He’s played in 47 career games but does have the ability to return for a fifth year in 2026 thanks to recent NCAA eligibility reform.

OLB Elijah Satchell: The 6-foot-3, 242-pound true freshman edge rusher isn’t playing an every-down role for this defense but has already delivered a team-high four sacks and a forced fumble. Satchell, a former three-star recruit from New Jersey, ranks second on the team in pressures despite averaging around 20 snaps per game and earned his first start against Wake Forest. — Max Olson

Three key recruits

S K.J. Caldwell, No. 80 in the SC Next ESPN 300: Caldwell represented a massive recruiting victory for Doeren and his staff when the 6-foot, 175-pound defensive back from Lilburn, Georgia, committed to the Wolfpack in May. A two-way standout at Georgia’s Parkview High School, Caldwell has proven himself as a versatile defender capable of playing in multiple schemes. If he sticks with his NC State pledge, Caldwell will be the highest-ranked defender to join the program since Savion Jackson in 2019. If not, spring finalists Georgia, Kansas State and Mississippi State likely won’t be the only programs interested in securing his signature.

QB Gunner Rivers, No. 151 in the SC Next ESPN 300: The son of an NC State legend — ACC career passing yards leader and eight-time NFL Pro Bowler Philip Rivers — and the nation’s No. 11 pocket passer, Gunner Rivers is the most important piece of the Wolfpack’s 2027 class. The 6-foot-3 quarterback from Fairhope, Alabama, committed to his father’s alma mater in February over reported offers from Auburn, Boston College, Miami and South Carolina after throwing for 2,813 yards and 44 touchdowns as a junior last fall. NC State doesn’t sign quarterbacks like Rivers often. He would represent the program’s highest-rated signee at the position since Mike Glennon in 2008. Whoever is leading the Wolfpack next must make retaining Rivers’ pledge a priority.

OG Jacob Burns, No. 28 offensive guard: NC State not only invested at quarterback in the 2027 class, but also in offensive line talent to eventually protect Rivers, too. At 6-foot-7, 305 pounds, Burns is the top-ranked of five offensive linemen in the Wolfpack’s latest class. North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia Tech were all significant contenders when Burns pledged to NC State over the summer and could soon be back for the towering lineman from Rabun Gap, Georgia. — Eli Lederman