Midway through his 14th season with the team, NC State head coach Dave Doeren was abruptly fired following the team’s 3-4 start.

“I’ve coached 32 years, and I’ve never been unemployed,” Doeren said this week. “So these last few days in October, waking up with an empty calendar, with no alarm clock has been very different – to wake up on a Monday morning and not be thinking about the next game or the last game or what’s going on, never in my life.”

Doeren, 54, had a 98-74 record with the Wolfpack and became the program’s winningest coach with a 2023 victory over Miami.

With the longtime head coach gone, a former NFL star quarterback is gaining steam for the job.

Philip Rivers Becomes Focus of NC State Search

College football insiders Chris Low, Pete Nakoz and Brett McMurphy of On3 revealed Philip Rivers is now the focus of NC State’s coaching search. Rivers is in the midst of coaching St.…