Three Memorable Dave Doeren Moments From 2025

Not going anywhere and an upset

As NC State's season spiraled due to a plethora of injuries and a rough spot in performance, rumors and speculation of Dave Doeren's potential retirement began to swirl once again. Said rumors already dominated the news cycle after a turbulent 2024 season in Raleigh that ended with the ugly brawl at the 2025 Military Bowl. The tension reached a new high in the days before NC State took on No. 8 Georgia Tech, with Doeren outright addressing the rumors.

"I think about winning games, trying to find ways to get better, trying to help this football team, trying to help this university, trying to help my coaches, trying to not get my wife mad at me," Doeren said on October 30. "That's what I think about. Do I have plans down the road someday to retire? Sure. But I don't have any plans to do that, I'm going to keep coaching. I've got four years left on my contract."

With the rumors put to rest, Doeren went back to getting his team ready for a Georgia Tech offense that had been a buzzsaw through the first eight weeks of the season. The motivated head coach spread that feeling to his team and helped the Wolfpack pick up a win over the No. 8 team in the country.

"When we play complimentary football, 11-man football, guys doing their job and answering the call when they need to, we're a really good football team and it's unfortunate it's taken us a while to play a whole game that way," Doeren said.

"Cheers, Go Pack."

The Wolfpack needed one win in two weeks to achieve bowl eligibility. It came into a home matchup against Florida State viewed as the underdog, but thoroughly dominated the Seminoles on the defensive side of the ball. After the win, Doeren's signature red solo cup made an appearance in the postgame press conference, reminding many Wolfpack fans of classic memories of Doeren after big wins.

Near the end of the postgame press conference, Doeren was asked about the team and program's pride and whether that helped the group stay the course as it dealt with adversity during the middle portion of the season. After a lengthy answer about his team's fight, stating that there is "no quit" within the program, Doeren ended the press conference with a viral moment.

The Birthday incident

Doeren and the Wolfpack faced the Miami Hurricanes on Nov. 15 in South Florida. The game went far from the way NC State wanted it to, as the Hurricanes dominated the Pack 41-7, with the lone touchdown for Doeren's squad coming in the fourth quarter. Doeren's birthday is Dec. 3, almost a month later. Despite this fact, one reporter tried to "lighten the mood" after the loss by including that fact before his question. That attempt was unsuccessful.

Doeren's actual birthday celebration came on National Signing Day, when he welcomed the next group of Wolfpack players and flipped a member of the UNC recruiting class.

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