Tag: Dave Doeren

Trio of ACC head coaches on the hot seat heading into Week 5

Three ACC coaches are feeling the pressure as the hot seat warms up heading into Week 5 of the college football season.

The 2024 college football season is roughly one third of the way over, giving fans enough time to determine which programs are legit contenders and who might need to reevaluate things at the end of the year – if not sooner.

There’s a little bit of both in the ACC, with Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes looking like legit contenders to not only win the ACC, but to compete for a national championship.

The Clemson Tigers stumbled in Week 1 but have looked much better under Dabo Swinney, while much has been made about the massively surprising early season struggles seen by Mike Norvell’s Florida State Seminoles.

Three ACC coaches are feeling their seat get a little warmer after about one month of game action, and we detail what a buyout would look like for each coach and what they need to do the rest of the season to keep their job heading into 2025:

Mack Brown – North Carolina Tar Heels

North Carolina has a Mack Brown problem. Brown of course took the Tar Heels from complete obscurity to national relevance in the 1990’s, going 1-10 in 1988 and 1989 and then 67-26-1 from 1990-1997, a streak which included Peach Bowl, Carquest Bowl, and Gator Bowl victories.

Brown returned to Chapel Hill in 2019 after a five year absence, having spent 1998-2013 leading Texas to 158 wins and 10 bowl victories. Brown helped revitalize North Carolina football for a second time, leading the Tar Heels to five straight seasons of bowl eligibility – although UNC is just 1-4 in said games.

Now, after the team was properly thrashed by James Madison at home in Week 4, losing 70-50, it’s clear North Carolina needs to make a change.

Brown is a college football legend, and has a huge role in the history of North Carolina football – a role it would be sad to see him tarnish by hanging on too long. His contract runs through 2027, and would cost the ‘Heels $20 million to buyout, but perhaps a mutual parting of ways is the best path forward for both parties.

Dave Doeren – NC State Wolfpack

Brown isn’t the only ACC coach in the state of North Carolina who is feeling the pressure so far this season. Dave Doeren is under fire after a disaster start to the season for NC State. The Wolfpack are 2-2 so far this year, suffering a 41 point loss at home against Tennessee in Week 2 and then giving up a whopping 59 points to Clemson in Week 4, losing by 24 points.

Doeren has long had difficulty winning big games, and for the Wolfpack to ever compete for more than just bowl eligibility they need someone who can lead them to big time victories.

Buying out Doeren would cost the school just under $35 million, a hefty sum for a coach who has won eight or more games in six of the past seven seasons. It’s unlikely, but if this team fails to qualify for a bowl game there will be unrest in Raleigh.

Mike Norvell – Florida State Seminoles

Mike Norvell felt his seat cool thanks to a Week 4 victory over Cal, although it certainly didn’t inspire a ton of confidence. Coming into the season with expectations of competing for a national championship and going undefeated, Florida State hasn’t looked anywhere near that level this month.

FSU offensive coordinator Alex Atkins returned in Week 4 after a three-game suspension, but the ‘Noles managed just 14 points at home against the Golden Bears – a clear sign the offense still has a lot of work to do.

It would cost Florida State roughly $65 million to move on, and for a school that has had financial instability, firing a coach who led them to an undefeated regular season and ACC championship last year seems very unlikely.

Still, it’s fair to say any momentum Norvell gained last year is now completely gone, and while this team could still right the ship and qualify for a bowl game, his seat will remain on the warm setting all season long.

Power ranking 7 candidates who are reportedly in the mix for Michigan State football’s coaching job

Ranking 7 candidates who are reportedly in the mix for MSU’s coaching job:

It has been a long road for the Michigan State fan base, but that road is finally coming to an end. MSU has reportedly been conducting interviews with candidates that they have vetted over the last two months and are looking to zero in on their next leader.

There have been some leaks on guys who have interviewed for the job, and some sources have shared some names with Spartans Wire, giving us a good idea who is in the mix to take over the Spartans football program.

Let’s take a look at where Spartans Wire ranks the candidates that are reportedly in the mix for MSU’s job:

Power ranking 10 candidates for Michigan State football’s head coaching job: Version 2.0

Power ranking 10 candidates for Michigan State football’s head coaching job: Version 2.0

November is here and Michigan State’s coaching search is about to start ramping up in a big way.

In this series, we have ranked the potential candidates that could be in the running to take over Michigan State’s job. The list will be capped at ten names along with a few other honorable mentions, and will fluctuate based on how coaches are performing this season along with any rumored or confirmed interest from the Spartans.

Check out where we see the rankings at heading into the final month of the college football season:

NC State coach Dave Doeren blasts Steve Smith Sr. for ‘basketball school’ comment

North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren took major offense to a Steve Smith Sr. comment

Steve Smith Sr. was on the “College Gameday” show in Utah on Saturday.

When it came to discussing Clemson-North Carolina State, Smith tagged the Wolfpack as a “basketball school.”

North Carolina State improved to 5-3 with a 24-17 victory over the Tigers.

And when Doeren was interviewed post-game, he leveled the former NFL star wide receiver.

Doeren told Smith he could, um, kiss his posterior, in not so gentle terms.

Doeren explained his feelings to the media after the win.

Why N.C. State’s Dave Doeren said Steve Smith Sr. ‘can kiss my [expletive]’ after win over Clemson

Why was Dave Doeren so mad at Steve Smith Sr. after NC State beat Clemson?

If you are wondering why North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren told former NFL wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. to “kiss his ass” during a postgame interview, you are not alone.

After Doeren and the NC State Wolfpack toppled Clemson, 24-17, at home on Saturday to get to 5-3 on the season, the coach gave a feisty postgame jab at Smith by telling him that NC State isn’t a basketball school and that he can “kiss his ass.”

Look, we get being excited and all over a Clemson win, but what does Smith have to do with this? Well, it turns out the insult actually makes a lot of sense.

Smith, a Utah alumnus, appeared on ESPN’s College GameDay this week while the show broadcasted from Salt Lake City. He also joked about NC State’s chances of beating Clemson as he picked the Tigers to win.

“Clemson has been struggling,” Smith told the College GameDay crew. “They’re not the Clemson that we’ve loved over the years. But NC State, unfortunately, they’re waiting for basketball to start.”

Okay, we now see why Doeren was so salty toward Smith after the game.

NC State isn’t really known for a single sport as much as them just being relatively competitive across plenty of sports, so Doeren is right to defend his program’s honor after such a big win.

However, the whole situation was a bit strange if you didn’t have a good bit of context.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372]

Power ranking 10 candidates for Michigan State football’s head coaching job: Version 1.0

Ranking MSU’s potential head coaching candidates:

Following a massive USA TODAY investigation, Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller announced to the public that the University plans to fire Mel Tucker for cause, which would imply that a coaching search is imminent, if not already underway.

At no slight to acting head coach Harlon Barnett, it’s only natural that there  has been a lot of chatter already amongst the Michigan State fan base and media around who could be the next man up to be the long-term head coach at MSU.

In this series, we will be ranking the potential candidates that could be in the running to take over Michigan State’s job. The list will be capped at ten names (for now) along with a few other honorable mentions, and will fluctuate based on how coaches are performing this season along with any rumored or confirmed interest from the Spartans:

What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame at NC State

What do you predict for this game?

Notre Dame could face its first real competition of the season in NC State. The Irish have to go on the road, and the Wolfpack will give them everything they’ve got. Worth noting is that even though this will only be the fourth time the programs have met, an Irish win would draw the teams even in the all-time series. While the Irish don’t have historical losing records against that many opponents, it sure would be nice to knock one of them off the list.

Let’s look at what some college football experts are predicting for this game:

Marcus Freeman named to Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List

Congrats, Marcus!

Even though he’s only in his second full season as Notre Dame coach, expectations remain high for [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag]. In fact, the high expectations for the 2023 Irish put him on everyone’s radar. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s one of 21 coaches to be named to the Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List. No coaching award is bigger in college football.

During the season, there will be a midseason watch list differing from the preseason list to some degree. There will be a final list at the end of the regular season before the winner is announced at the Peach Bowl as it always is. Brian Kelly is the lone Irish coach to earn this hardware, doing so in 2018.

The following coaches who also are on the watch list will face the Irish in 2023: Dabo Swinney of Clemson, Ryan Day of Ohio State, Dave Clawson of Wake Forest and Dave Doeren of NC State.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Nebraska Football Coaching Search Tracker: Week 6

Who are some of the leading candidates for the Nebraska vacancy?!

Now that Week 6 has come and gone, the list of prospective candidates for the head football coach job at Nebraska continues to evolve. It’s important to remember that Athletic Director Trev Alberts has clarified that this will be a national search and that he intends to “reach out to a lot of people.”

When asked for the qualities Alberts will look for in someone to run the program, he stated,

“I don’t know if there is anything specific to how magnified the role is. I certainly think it has to be someone who has a servant leadership mentality that is here to serve young people. Perhaps sees a picture that is bigger than themselves. But I don’t think anything specific. Every single job in college football has challenges. This job has advantages to other jobs and it has some disadvantages. It is the same thing with every job in college football. We have 1.8 million people in this state. That is not going to change. But we have some built in advantages here so if we play to our strengths and build on those. The right type of coach sees this as an opportunity to rebuild and build something special here.”

When asked for a timeline when a hire would be made, Alberts said,

“I do think there’s some benefits in terms of making the decision when we made it. I think this gives us an opportunity to really do the necessary work. We need to dive into a real process, and a detail-oriented process that talks to a lot of people. That’s why I mentioned earlier, you’re gonna hear about a lot of names. That’s good. That means we’re going to talk to a lot of people, because we’re going to clearly define what our values are. And we’re not going to hire coaches who don’t believe in what we believe in. We need to take as long as it takes to find the right leader. So is there an ideal timeline? Sure. You could naturally look at some of these timelines – early signing date – and say it would be really nice to be able to get the person in place by then, because it would allow us to do that. We won’t make decisions or rush things just to get a coach hired. We’re also not going to try to win the press conference. At the end of the day, we need to hire the right leader and the right fit, and that’s a really important thing here, as well.”

Below is a list of the active college football coaches who have been rumored around the head coaching search and then one wildcard who I think should be given a serious look.

Clemson remains the top dog in the ACC with a statement win over NC State

Clemson makes a statement with a huge College GameDay win over NC State.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers hosted NC State for ESPN’s College GameDay and did not disappoint their fans.

Clemson made a statement Saturday night with a 30-13 win over Dave Doeren and NC State. Though things were close in the first half, the Tigers dominated the Wolfpack in the second half giving everyone a look at why they’re considered the best team in the ACC and one of the best in the country.

On offense, starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei proved once again that he is a different player this season, putting together another excellent performance. The junior quarterback completed 21-30 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown through the air while having a big night on the ground. Uiagalelei ran the ball 14 times for 73-yards ad two touchdowns as he continues to show people why he’s Clemson’s starting quarterback.

The score may not show it, but Clemson’s defense was dominant against NC State’s offense, particularly on the line. The Tigers’ defensive line proved too much for the Wolfpack’s offensive line, repeatedly causing issues for NC State starting quarterback Devin Leary.

The unit held NC State’s offense to just 34 yards on the ground as they continue to make teams one-dimensional. The defense allowed just 279 total yards in the game.

This win was a massive statement for the Tigers as NC State entered the game with a lot of hype surrounding the group.

Clemson will head to Boston College Saturday, October 8th, for an in-conference matchup next week.

[mm-video type=video id=01geaarmcx8b4bn4e9gz playlist_id=01fvdd1xkgcx6zr5s5 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01geaarmcx8b4bn4e9gz/01geaarmcx8b4bn4e9gz-dd58d17127fac1e996b00af134f735df.jpg]

[listicle id=6663]