NC State isn’t done making changes. One day after firing head coach Dave Doeren, the Wolfpack relieved defensive coordinator DJ Eliot of his duties and also parted ways with football general manager Andy Vaughn, as first reported by ABC11.
Here’s how the staff shakes out for the rest of the season, per ABC11:
- Todd Goebbel is the interim head coach. His first media briefing is set for Tuesday.
- Charlton Warren will call the defense.
- Zac Roper will coach running backs and coordinate special teams.
The moves came right after a 31-28 road loss at Stanford on Friday night, which dropped the Pack to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC. We broke down that one here: NC State’s Late Rally Comes Up Short as Stanford Holds On.
The IAHHM Take
Firing the head coach in the middle of the season is one thing. Taking out the defensive coordinator and the GM, the person in charge of building the roster, in the same weekend tells you Raleigh wants a full reset, not a patch job.
Fans told ABC11 they figured Doeren might be gone after the season, but almost nobody saw a mid-season sweep coming. One NC State junior, Luke Wallace, put it simply: he “was kind of surprised to see that yesterday.” Another alum floated a name that will get the Wolfpack faithful talking: Philip Rivers, possibly in a GM role, building the staff his way.
The real question now is the next five games. A 3-4 team with an interim coach still has a path to a bowl game if the locker room buys in. Can Goebbel keep this group together, and who should NC State chase for the full-time job? Sound off.
Keep up with all things Carolina in our Sports section.
Source: ABC11
