Dave Doeren did not get the ending he wanted.

The winningest coach in NC State football history spent his final press conference Tuesday thanking his family, former players, staff members and fans while reflecting on his 13½ seasons with the Wolfpack.

Doeren was fired Oct. 24 with athletics director Boo Corrigan announcing the coaching change following NC State’s 31-28 loss at Stanford. Doeren finished his tenure in Raleigh with a 98-74 record, including eight or more wins in eight seasons.

"This is not how I wanted to go out," Doeren said on Oct. 27. "But, you know, the more I thought about it, honestly, how many coaches get to go out the way they wanted?"

Doeren reflected on the success he found early in his tenure at NC State and the challenge of sustaining it as college football changed. Doeren led NC State to a winning record in 10 of his first 13 seasons and had back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2017 and 2018.

"Pre-NIL transfer portal, when I took this job, I knew what it was, and I felt like we had a plan," Doeren said. "I was able to thrive, developing players often under times, underappreciated players, diamonds in the roughs. Some people call them, but we had a way of identifying guys and developing guys and creating a five-star player out of a two star or three star player. 
And that was a motivating factor for me."

But Doeren said the rise of NIL opportunities and the transfer portal made it increasingly difficult to retain the players who had helped sustain that model. The Wolfpack lost an average of four potential NFL players or NFL players per year over the previous three years, he said.

"It really changed in a tough way when NIL and transfer portal started, not just at NC State, but for a lot of schools," Doeren said. "And as much as we battled and tried to keep up in that, it became harder and harder with the rev share in NIL gap that exists in college football to maintain proven competitive depth.

"Retention and acquisition is expensive and very competitive in this space that we're in now. And everybody has different money. 
They say there's a cap, and they say there isn't. And I think that's the one thing that people need to understand. There's haves and haves-nots when it comes to how much money schools have in this space."

Heading into 2026, Doeren said it was "when, not if" NC State would reach 10 wins, a milestone the Wolfpack had reached just once in program history.

Instead, NC State opened the season with a 34-8 loss at Virginia. The Wolfpack followed two weeks later with a last-second loss at Vanderbilt, a blowout defeat against Wake Forest and a loss at Stanford that dropped it to 3-4.

"I know this year was disappointing, and I take total blame for that," Doeren said. "But we did a lot of good, and a lot of great, while I was here, and I loved it. We built men who will be successful in this world, and I'm very, very proud of that."

It marks the first time in his 32-year career Doeren has been unemployed.

"It's been different," he said. "I love this university. I leave here knowing that I made it better than I found it, on and off the field."

Todd Goebbel, NC State running backs coach/special teams coordinator, will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Goebbel has been on staff since 2019.

"For this program to become what is wanted and expected, the resources need to match the expectations," Doeren said. "... I hope, for NC State, this commitment to football happens. I really want this program to win, and I want the next head coach, I pray for the next head coach that he has that opportunity, because it's just not the way it used to be."

Doeren did not open it up for questions from the media during his near 18-minute press conference.

"This is my press conference, and that's the last time I'm gonna talk to any of you for a while," Doeren said. "And so I just want to say thank you, for the relationships that I do have with some of you. And I do appreciate the coverage for these student-athletes and for me, and for our coaches, and for all the things that we've done. And look forward to the future. Go Pack."