Dave Doeren
Dave Doeren went 121–77 as a head coach, 2011–2026, at Northern Illinois and NC State. Share
- Record
- 121–77 career
- Seasons
- 16
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Born
- Dec 3, 1971
- Best season
- 2021 9–3, No. 20
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Northern Illinois | 11–3 | T–1st | GoDaddy.com Bowl W | ||
| 2012 | Northern Illinois | 12–1 | 1st | Orange (not coached) | ||
| 2013 | NC State | 3–9 | 7th | |||
| 2014 | NC State | 8–5 | 5th | St. Petersburg Bowl W | ||
| 2015 | NC State | 7–6 | 4th | Belk Bowl L | ||
| 2016 | NC State | 7–6 | T–4th | Independence Bowl W | ||
| 2017 | NC State | 9–4 | 2nd | Sun Bowl W | 23 | |
| 2018 | NC State | 9–4 | 3rd | Gator Bowl L | ||
| 2019 | NC State | 4–8 | 7th | |||
| 2020 | NC State | 8–4 | T–4th | Gator Bowl L | ||
| 2021 | NC State | 9–3 | T–2nd | Holiday (not played) | 20 | |
| 2022 | NC State | 8–5 | T–3rd | Duke’s Mayo Bowl L | ||
| 2023 | NC State | 9–4 | 3rd | Pop-Tarts Bowl L | 21 | |
| 2024 | NC State | 6–7 | T–10th | Military Bowl L | ||
| 2025 | NC State | 8–5 | T–7th | Gasparilla Bowl W | ||
| 2026 | NC State | 3–3 |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Garrett Bradbury2018 Rimington Trophy- Christopher DunnConsensus All‑American, 2022
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 37 | 9–28 | 24% |
| Against top-10 teams | 15 | 2–13 | 13% |
| Against rivals | 52 | 25–27 | 48% |
| Conference games | 126 | 68–58 | 54% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 11 | 5–6 | 45% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 69 | 42–27 | 61% |
| At home | 105 | 77–28 | 73% |
| On the road | 76 | 37–39 | 49% |
| At neutral sites | 17 | 7–10 | 41% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 126 | 98–28 | 78% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 72 | 23–49 | 32% |
His own 198 games on file, 2011–2026, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Clawson 2011–2024 | 7–5 | Bowling Green, Wake Forest | 12 | |
| Dabo Swinney 2013–2024 | 2–9 | Clemson | 11 | |
| Dino Babers 2016–2022 | 5–2 | Syracuse | 7 | |
| Steve Addazio 2013–2019 | 3–4 | Boston College | 7 | |
| Larry Fedora 2013–2018 | 4–2 | North Carolina | 6 | |
| Mack Brown 2019–2024 | 4–2 | North Carolina | 6 | |
| Jimbo Fisher 2013–2018 | 1–5 | Florida State, Texas A&M | 6 | |
| Mike Norvell 2020–2025 | 4–0 | Florida State | 4 | |
| Bobby Petrino 2014–2017 | 1–3 | Louisville | 4 | |
| Manny Diaz 2020–2025 | 0–4 | Miami, Duke | 4 |
Dave Doeren’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Wake Forestseries | 14 | 7–7 |
| North Carolinaseries | 13 | 9–4 |
| Syracuseseries | 11 | 7–4 |
| Florida Stateseries | 11 | 6–5 |
| Clemsonseries | 11 | 2–9 |
| Louisvilleseries | 10 | 4–6 |
| Boston Collegeseries | 9 | 4–5 |
| East Carolinaseries | 7 | 4–3 |
How he was hired
- Hired by NC State for the 2013 season from Northern Illinois, where he was head coach.
Power-conference head-coaching hires since 2010, with each coach’s previous job and ties to the school as collected by hand from Wikipedia: Hiring facts: M. Schuckers, cfb_coach_analytics.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Shawnee Mission HS (KS) high school | Wide receivers and defensive line coach | |
| 1995–96 | Drake | Linebackers coach | |
| 1997 | Drake | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| 1998–99 | USC | Graduate assistant | |
| 2000–01 | Montana | Defensive backs coach | |
| 2002–04 | Kansas | Linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| 2005 | Kansas | Co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| 2006–07 | Wisconsin | Co-defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| 2008–10 | Wisconsin | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| 2011–12 | Northern Illinois | Head coach | |
| 2013–present | NC State | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Paul HackettUSC
- Joe GlennMontana
- Mark ManginoKansas
- Bret BielemaWisconsin
Assistants who became head coaches
- Jay NiemannSimpson (IA)
- Matt CanadaMaryland
- Rod CareyNorthern Illinois, Temple
- Tom MatukewiczNorthern Illinois, Southeast Missouri State
- Mike DunbarCentral Washington, Northern Iowa
- Mike UremovichBall State, St. Francis (IL), Butler
- George BarlowNew Mexico
- Eli DrinkwitzApp State, Missouri
- Kevin PatrickSouth Florida
- Ted RoofDuke
- Kurt RoperColorado
- Tony GibsonMarshall
- and 4 more
Worked under (4)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Hackett | USC | 1998–99 | Graduate assistant | |
| Joe Glenn | Montana | 2000–01 | Defensive backs coach | |
| Mark Mangino | Kansas | 2002–05 | 2002–04: linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator; 2005: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Bret Bielema | Wisconsin | 2006–10 | 2006–07: co-defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator; 2008–10: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (16)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Niemann | Northern Illinois, 2011–12: defensive coordinator and safeties coach | Simpson (IA) | |
| Matt Canada | Northern Illinois, 2011: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; NC State, 2013–15: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Maryland | |
| Rod Carey | Northern Illinois, 2011: offensive line coach; 2012: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Northern Illinois, Temple | |
| Tom Matukewicz | Northern Illinois, 2011: linebackers coach | Northern Illinois, Southeast Missouri State | |
| Mike Dunbar | Northern Illinois, 2012: offensive coordinator | Central Washington, Northern Iowa | |
| Mike Uremovich | Northern Illinois, 2012: running backs and special teams coach; NC State, 2013–15: offensive line coach | Ball State, St. Francis (IL), Butler | |
| George Barlow | NC State, 2014–15: cornerbacks coach; 2016–20: assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach | New Mexico | |
| Eli Drinkwitz | NC State, 2016–18: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | App State, Missouri | |
| Kevin Patrick | NC State, 2017–19: defensive line coach | South Florida | |
| Ted Roof | NC State, 2018: assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach | Duke | |
| Kurt Roper | NC State, 2019, 2023–24: quarterbacks coach; 2020–22: running backs coach; 2025–26: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Colorado | |
| Tony Gibson | NC State, 2019: defensive coordinator and safeties coach; 2020–24: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Marshall | |
| Ruffin McNeill | NC State, 2020–26: special assistant | Texas Tech, East Carolina | |
| Tim Beck | NC State, 2020–22: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Coastal Carolina | |
| Joker Phillips | NC State, 2021–26: assistant head coach and wide receivers coach | Kentucky | |
| Scott Boone | NC State, 2021: defensive analyst | Randolph Macon |
Other assistants under him (20)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Eddie Faulkner | Northern Illinois, 2011: running backs coach and special teams coordinator; NC State, 2013–18: tight ends coach, fullbacks coach and special teams coordinator | |
| Kevin Kane | Northern Illinois, 2011: tight ends and fullbacks coach; 2012: linebackers coach | |
| Ryan Nielsen | Northern Illinois, 2011: defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator; 2012: co-defensive coordinator, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator; NC State, 2013: defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator; 2014–16: defensive line coach and running game coordinator | |
| Clayton White | NC State, 2013–16: co-STC and safeties coach | |
| Dave Huxtable | NC State, 2013–19: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Desmond Kitchings | NC State, 2013–15: running backs coach; 2016–18: assistant head coach and running backs coach; 2019: co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach | |
| Ty Howle | NC State, 2014–15: graduate assistant | |
| George McDonald | NC State, 2015–18: wide receivers coach; 2019–20: co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Dwayne Ledford | NC State, 2016–18: offensive line coach | |
| Eliah Drinkwitz | NC State, 2016–18: offensive coordinator | |
| Aaron Henry | NC State, 2017: safeties coach; 2018–19: cornerbacks coach | |
| Nathan Burton | NC State, 2017: defensive quality control coach | |
| Billy Dicken | NC State, 2018–19: defense quality control coach | |
| Joe Scelfo | NC State, 2018: graduate assistant | |
| Brian Mitchell | NC State, 2020–26: cornerbacks coach | |
| Zac Roper | NC State, 2022: analyst | |
| Robert Anae | NC State, 2023–24: offensive coordinator | |
| Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay | NC State, 2024: defensive coordinator | |
| Charlton Warren | NC State, 2025–26: co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| D. J. Eliot | NC State, 2025–26: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | NC State | head coachbonuses up to $1,750,000; $150,000 in bonuses paid; buyout $1,776,250 | $2,212,600 USA Today | |
| 2016 | NC State | head coachbonuses up to $1,750,000; $125,000 in bonuses paid | $2,200,000 USA Today | |
| 2015 | NC State | head coachbonuses up to $1,750,000; $100,000 in bonuses paid | $2,200,000 USA Today | |
| 2014 | NC State | head coachbonuses up to $1,000,000 | $1,800,000 USA Today | |
| 2013 | NC State | head coachbonuses up to $1,000,000 | $2,555,000 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Doeren’s teams went for it on 21% of fourth downs and on 38% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 50% of plays and took 25.3 seconds a play, 2011–2026.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 14 g | Northern Illinois | 14 of 98 14% | 24% | 42% | 22.0 | +0.13 | |
| 2012 13 g | Northern Illinois | 22 of 85 26% | 40% | 42% | 21.7 | +0.08 | |
| 2013 12 g | NC State | 31 of 122 25% | 37% | 47% | 20.1 | −0.03 | |
| 2014 13 g | NC State | 10 of 85 12% | 28% | 47% | 25.3 | +0.06 | |
| 2015 13 g | NC State | 31 of 111 28% | 47% | 48% | 26.6 | +0.08 | |
| 2016 13 g | NC State | 26 of 95 27% | 54% | 49% | 25.2 | +0.02 | |
| 2017 13 g | NC State | 25 of 98 26% | 37% | 51% | 25.4 | +0.13 | |
| 2018 13 g | NC State | 17 of 89 19% | 27% | 52% | 25.8 | +0.12 | |
| 2019 12 g | NC State | 29 of 108 27% | 47% | 55% | 23.3 | −0.03 | |
| 2020 12 g | NC State | 13 of 84 15% | 31% | 52% | 24.2 | +0.03 | |
| 2021 12 g | NC State | 12 of 98 12% | 21% | 58% | 27.2 | +0.08 | |
| 2022 13 g | NC State | 20 of 120 17% | 33% | 55% | 26.1 | −0.07 | |
| 2023 12 g | NC State | 12 of 100 12% | 32% | 49% | 28.2 | −0.02 | |
| 2024 13 g | NC State | 19 of 89 21% | 39% | 52% | 29.5 | +0.07 | |
| 2025 13 g | NC State | 26 of 92 28% | 66% | 53% | 27.3 | +0.13 | |
| 2026 6 g | NC State | 10 of 38 26% | 47% | 51% | 27.3 | +0.14 | |
| All 197 g | 317 of 1512 21% | 38% | 50% | 25.3 | +0.06 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.