Getting To Know You:
NC State Football Coach Dave Doeren (Part Two)
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
(last updated Aug. 5, 2026)
As he enters his 14th season directing the NC State football program, Dave Doeren is one of the longest-tenured coaches in major college football.
Among the 138 head coaches competing at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level this year, only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, Air Force’s Troy Calhoun and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney have been in their current positions longer.
Longest-Tenured Active FBS Coaches
Seasons—Coach, School (Conference)
28—Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (Big Ten)
20—Troy Calhoun, Air Force (Mountain West)
19—Dabo Swinney, Clemson (ACC)
14—Dave Doeren, NC State (ACC)
14—Mark Stoops, Kentucky (SEC)
On the one hand, Doeren already is the winningest coach in Wolfpack history, with 95 career victories. He also has been very consistent, leading State to 11 bowl invitations in the past 12 seasons and regularly developing players who become National Football League draft picks.
On the other hand, Doeren’s average record in Raleigh is roughly 7-5, his ledger in Atlantic Coast Conference play sits at just 51-55, he’s never had a 10-win campaign, and his highest finish in the national polls is #19.
Doeren has been a regular guest on the David Glenn Show since 2013. Below is the full transcript (lightly edited for clarity) of Part Two of Doeren’s most recent one-on-one conversation with Glenn. Part One can be found HERE.
DG: When you see a story like the one at Indiana — a football program that went from mostly irrelevant for truly a half-century to a national championship in just two seasons under coach Curt Cignetti (a former Wolfpack assistant) — what does your coach’s brain process about how that happened?
Doeren: “There’s a lot of reasons it happened.
“It starts with Coach Cignetti; he did a tremendous job, and his staff did a tremendous job. His team stayed healthy, and health is a huge part of winning. And he had some old players on his team; he had an experienced football team. That’s one thing you look at; they were the oldest football team in the Power Four (in 2025).
“So, how can you become that way? It’s not easy to do these days. It’s not. He was able to do that. One thing that’s different now — and not to speak about Indiana or anybody in particular — but when you hire a new coach now, he can bring his roster with him. And (Cignetti) did; he brought 24 (JMU) players with him, I think, or around that number, and there were some really good players. A lot of those guys got drafted this year. So you can flip your roster’s talent and influx your culture a lot differently than when I came to NC State (in 2013). When (quarterback) Jacoby Brissett transferred (to State), he had to sit out a year. Could I bring my NIU team, which won (23 games over two years), here and watch (NIU’s All-American QB) Jordan Lynch? You know what I mean? I would have liked to have tried that.
“It’s different now. He did a great job of bringing the right guys from JMU, and those guys helped him build the culture he wanted (at IU). And then they recruited and developed and coached really well.”
DG: I appreciated your candor when you were asked about CJ Bailey staying at NC State. You said there was a transactional aspect to it, where obviously NC State had to come up with a competitive financial offer, given the money other schools were throwing at him. Then you discussed the personal aspect of it. How can you elaborate on that foundation, which obviously led to CJ’s decision to stay with the Wolfpack?
Doeren: “Well, football has always been relational for me. It’s now transactional, as well, and you have to pour into both. At some point, when the decision comes down, the relational side has to be important, and for some players, it’s not. For some players, it is (important).
“For CJ, the relationships, the trust, was a big part of it. He wanted to play for people he could trust. That means a lot to me. It’s a relationship that’ll go on for as many years as he’ll allow it, because I love that young man, what he’s made of, how his parents have raised him. He is awesome. Now, just to have another chance to go out there and fight with that kid, I’m excited about it.”
DG: Would you know, off the top of your head, how many straight times you’ve beaten the Tar Heels, or your record against Carolina in the last 10 games, or would I have to help you fill in some of those blanks?
Doeren: “(Laughs.) It’s five in a row; I do know that. You may have to give me the second one (8-2).”
DG: A long-time friend of the David Glenn Show, the legendary Wolfpack baseball coach Elliott Avent, retired since the last time we spoke with you. Quick thoughts?
Doeren: “I talked to Coach Avent the other day. He’s about to go to Italy, I think, for two weeks. I can’t say enough about him. He’s been a great friend and mentor and will continue to be. What he’s done, and what he’s meant to the fan base and to all of his players … I’m still going to make him come over and talk to the (Wolfpack football) team once a year, before the UNC game, because he fires everybody up.
“I love that guy, man. I’m so happy for him and what he gets to do now. I’m sure he’s going to be around baseball. He’s not going to be able to walk away from that.”
DG: Another great, long-time friend of our show is Ruffin McNeill, a guy my wife likes to call the “Human Ray of Sunshine.” How is Coach Ruff?
Doeren: “Ruff is doing great. He’s doing really good. I’m very fortunate to get to work with that man every day. His office is right across (from mine); I can scream out of mine, and he can hear me. I sit on that couch; it’s therapy — coach therapy, life therapy, every day.
“It’s a blessing to come to work with him every day and to spend time with him. His wife, Erlene, is the same way.”
DG: From the outside, we look at your 2026 schedule as far more welcoming than it typically was, for example, in your ACC Atlantic Division days, when every single year you had to play multiple programs that were typically on a roll and very hard to beat — Florida State, Clemson, Louisville, sometimes others. Is it taboo for you to agree with that assessment, or can you factor this year’s schedule into these conversations about what’s possible for the 2026 Wolfpack?
Doeren: “There’s definitely opportunity for us this year.
“It’s hard to compare the way it was to the way it is now, because teams now flip their rosters. Like, I have 50 new players. So it’s hard to say that my schedule is easier than last year’s when you don’t even know … Cal’s got a whole new roster, right? Like, you don’t know what they’re going to be like. Nobody does. But they’re going to preseason rank all these teams.
“I think last year it came out that we played more teams with nine (or more) wins than any team in college football. So our schedule was harder than anyone’s in the country when you looked at it at the end of the season, but you wouldn’t have known that going into it.”
DG: Amedeo’s Italian Restaurant is one of our great partners here at the North Carolina Sports Network. Your photo is on the wall there. What can you tell us about Amedeo’s?
Doeren: “Great place! NC State lovers. We love them.
“Incredible food as well. They serve us, our coaches, once a week during the season. We thank them for that. It’s always a fun place to pop in and see, too.”
