The ACC has its first casualty of the 2026 college football coaching cycle, and it's the head coach of a longtime Clemson Tigers rival.
NC State fired coach Dave Doeren after 14 seasons Saturday, less than 24 hours after the Wolfpack fell in a 31-28 loss at Stanford on Friday. NC State dropped to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in ACC play following the loss to the Cardinal. Running backs coach and special teams coordinator Todd Goebbel was named interim coach.
Doeren had been the ACC's second-longest tenured head coach behind Clemson's Dabo Swinney. He exits NC State with a career win-loss record of 98-74, including 52-57 in conference play.
Only two of Doeren's 98 career victories in Raleigh came against Clemson, and both were in a span of three years. The
Wolfpack defeated the Tigers, 27-21, on Sept. 25, 2001 at Carter-Finley Stadium, a victory that snapped an eight-game Tigers winning streak in the Textile Bowl rivalry.
Doeren's second win over Clemson, a 24-17 win on Oct. 28, 2023, in Raleigh came two days before Swinney went viral for his blistering attack of a fan ("Tyler from Spartanburg") on his weekly radio show. The Tigers' loss to NC State dropped the team to 4-4 before it won its final five games.
Doeren led NC State to four 9-win seasons during his time in Raleigh, including a 52-31 win over Arizona State in the 2017 Sun Bowl. The Wolfpack finished 8-5 in 2025 with a 31-7 win over Memphis in the Gasparilla Bowl.
His career record against Swinney and Clemson was 2-9. The Tigers and Wolfpack played annually from 1971-2019, and from 2021-24 before the rivalry paused on an annual basis due to conference realignment and expansion. Clemson won the last matchup against NC State, 59-35, on Sept. 21, 2024, at Memorial Stadium.
Dave Doeren fired: who are ACC football's longest-tenured head coaches?
![Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney admires the Ash Verlander Champions Trophy before hoisting it over his head after the game of an NCAA football matchup in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Clemson Tigers edged the Kentucky Wildcats 38-35. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2026/10/25/STID/92428214007-20231229-t-234924-z-631848230-mt-1-usatoday-22190251-rtrmadp-3-clemsontigersheadcoachdaboswinneyadmirestheash.JPG)
- 1. Dabo Swinney, Clemson: 19th season
- 2. Pat Narduzzi, Pitt: 12th season
- 3. Mike Norvell, Florida State: seventh season
- T-4. Mario Cristoball, Miami: fifth season
- T-4. Tony Elliott, Virginia: fifth season
- T-4. Rhett Lashlee, SMU: fifth season
Clemson flails late in 4th to suffer huge loss against Virginia Tech
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) October 25, 2026
📸 Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network , USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co https://t.co/d9SWgJsdnk pic.twitter.com/m2b2DeGVxn
Contact us at @Clemson_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: College football 2026 coaching carousal: Clemson rival fires coach
