Dave Doeren and Chris Ash: Old Friends Reunite

Doeren and Ash first met during their time as players at Drake University in Iowa. The pair moved into coaching together after their playing days, both becoming assistants for the Bulldogs in the late 1990s. When asked about memories of their early days together, Doeren remembered how different life was.

"We were all working together at Drake and taking care of the locker room. We remodeled the locker room, we used to go out and mow the grass and paint the fields and it was a one-stop shop," Doeren said. "You had to drive the bus, you had to cut up the film, you had to coach your guys, you had to recruit an area. You did everything."

The Wolfpack head coach found himself reminiscing about road trips around the Southwest. He and Ash bounced from school to school on their spring breaks, learning as much as they could about the sport. The pair learned what it meant to be football coaches before turning 30. They had a little fun, too.

"We learned from the bottom up how it is to coach football together. We used to go on road trips and study football at other places and on our spring break, we'd drive to Oklahoma and see Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. We drive down to Dallas and see TCU or somebody else, and have a good time," Doeren said.

Reuniting with the Badgers

Doeren left Drake after the 1997 season to join the staff at Southern California. Both Doeren and Ash bounced around in a variety of different assistant roles at power conference and group-of-five schools for many years. The pair reunited at Wisconsin when Ash joined Bret Bielema's staff in Madison for the 2010 season.

"Then we were at Wisconsin together. Different. Now we're married with kids and trying to make a name for ourselves in the profession," Doeren said.

Doeren served as the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator while Ash coached the defensive backs. The 2010 Wisconsin defense was one of Doeren's best defenses, in his own opinion. He's not wrong. Led by star defensive end J.J. Watt and safety Aaron Henry, the Badgers won 11 games and made the Rose Bowl game, losing to TCU.

During their time with the Badgers, Doeren realized just how talented his friend was as a coach.

"He was always just so dialed in, Chris was. You go in and present all the formations and all the things they could do and the route concepts and the splits and the tendencies and protections, and it was a great right hand to have, you know, because we'd sit in there and argue about things too and come out with the best solution," Doeren said.

Brother vs. Brother?

The pair of coaches doesn't have much history facing one another. Doeren could only think of one instance in which the pair were on opposite sidelines or coaching booths. When Doeren left to become the head coach at Northern Illinois, his Huskies faced Ash, now elevated to Doeren's old job as the defensive coordinator for the Badgers, in 2011.

"We played Wisconsin, and it didn't go well. Russell Wilson was actually the quarterback for Wisconsin that year. That year, they won the Rose Bowl and Chris was the defensive coordinator. We played him in Soldier Field, but that's the last time I've coached against him," Doeren recalled.

For the first time in over a decade, Doeren and his old friend will face off. The NC State coach said they won't talk during the week, but they have stayed in touch throughout the season. But the old friends will be enemies for 60 minutes on Saturday afternoon.

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