Dave Doeren isn’t leaving Raleigh quietly. Days after NC State fired him, the former Wolfpack head coach said the school has to put more money behind football if it wants to win at the level its fans expect, as first reported by On3’s Noah Fleischman.
“For this program to become what is wanted and expected, the resources need to match the expectations,” Doeren said Tuesday. “That is the reality in college sports.”
On paper, the numbers back him up. The Athletic estimates NC State’s NIL budget at $22 million to $26 million, sixth among 17 ACC schools. Unbeaten Miami (7-0, 5-0 ACC) is estimated at $44 million to $50 million. That’s roughly double.
Doeren went 98-74 over 14 seasons and had winning records in five of the previous six years. But the Pack opened 2026 at 3-5, and the school decided to move on. Todd Goebbel, who coached running backs and ran special teams, is now the interim head coach. And the shake-up didn’t stop with Doeren: defensive coordinator DJ Eliot and GM Andy Vaughn were out a day later.
The IAHHM Take
This is modern college football in two sentences. Coaches used to get fired for losing. Now they get fired for losing while the program down the road spends twice as much in the NIL market. Doeren isn’t wrong that money matters. But 14 years is a long run, and a 3-5 start in a season where the ACC looked wide open is a tough look no matter the budget.
The bigger story for Wolfpack Nation is what comes next. Any big-name candidate is going to ask the same question Doeren just asked out loud: where’s the money? Whoever ends up in Raleigh, the NIL collective is about to be part of the job interview.
So who’s right, Doeren or the school? Should NC State open the checkbook before it picks the next coach? Let us know.
Source: Bleacher Report | On3
