By Fitzgerald Cecilio

Raleigh, NC

After giving Northern Illinois a second consecutive MAC title, coach Dave Doeren will take his act to another school as he was hired by North Carolina State to replace Tom O'Brien, who was fired last week after six seasons on the job.

"Coach Dave Doeren is a highly motivated overachiever who shares our goals to pursue aggressively a high level of achievement in the classroom and on the field of competition," NC State athletic director Debbie Yow said.

"I am honored and excited to join the Wolfpack. NC State has world-class facilities and fans that are second to none," Doeren said in a statement. "I want to thank chancellor (Dr. Randy)Woodson and Debbie Yow for this tremendous opportunity."

"My family and I can't wait to get to Raleigh and become Wolfpackers. While I look forward to our future at State, I want to acknowledge and thank the Northern Illinois players and fans for their support the last two years, especially president (John) Peters and Jeff Compher," he added.

In just two years under Doeren, the Huskies went 23-4 and 17-1 against MAC competition. The Huskies dashed Kent State's BCS hopes Friday night with a 44-37 double overtime victory in the MAC championship game. Doeren will not coach in the Huskies' bowl game, which is yet to be announced.

"What Dave has done here in two seasons has been unprecedented," Northern Illinois athletic director Jeff Compher said in a statement. "His record on the field speaks for itself, and the family atmosphere and culture of hard work he has fostered have led directly to our success. Under Dave and his staff, Northern Illinois has gone from being a great team to being a great program."

Under Doeren, the Huskies flourished on offense, averaging 40.8 points per game and is in the top 15 nationally in rushing offense (ninth), scoring offense (10th), third-down conversions (15th), and total offense (15th).

Before taking over as coach at Northern Illinois, Doeren spent five seasons at Wisconsin as the co-defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator.

 

North Carolina State Hires Dave Doeren as Football Coach