Potential NC State Football Head Coaches

In light of the recent firing of Tom O'Brien, those of us in Wolfpack Nation will be once again hiding in the bushes of RDU International Airport to see who we can spot each day. The last time we went through this we heard all kinds of rumors and then out of nowhere, Mark Gottfried was hired as our basketball coach. We were stunned! He hadn't been seen around Raleigh!

I think the lesson learned there was that Athletic Director Debbie Yow knows what she is doing and that we should trust her to get the job done. However, I love coaching searches and you are going to see a lot from me about the searches around the country. You have Arkansas, Auburn, Tennessee, Kentucky and NC State to name a few. Here is my list, in no particular order of potential TOB successors...

- Bill Cowher - More than likely this will be a no. However, Debbie Yow must make this phone call. The worst that can happen is that he says no (again) and you move one to the next guy. This would be the best possible scenario. I know, I know, we don't live in La-La Land!

- James Franklin - Currently the head coach of the resurrected Vanderbilt Commodores, he was Debbie Yow's choice to replace Ralph Friedgen at Maryland. However, she left and the new AD decided to go with former Connecticut Huskies coach Randy Edsall. Franklin left for Vandy and has turned that program into a perennial bowl contender. Franklin is the Debbie Yow kind of coach. He is a young, energetic and fiery recruiter. He matches the personality of Mark Gottfried almost to a "T." Franklin is a long shot and according to Yow in this evening's press conference isn't a candidate for the job at this point. I think this would be the second call Yow should make, unless she has something up her sleeve we don't know about!

- Chad Morris - Yow says that head coaching experience is not necessarily required to take on the job. Well them, the Clemson Tiger offensive coordinator should be considered for the position. I mean his offense did just put 62 points on the board against the Pack in Memorial Stadium a couple of weeks ago. Morris is sure to be a hot name around the country in the coming seasons. I think if the Pack is going to take on a guy like this, then they should get ahead of the game and snatch him up before someone else comes along.

- Brett Venables - The Clemson Defensive Coordinator left Oklahoma to take the OC job at CU after last season and it was an emotional decision for an emotional guy. Defense has been the achilles heel for the Pack over the past few seasons and a guy with Venables pedigree could be the fix for that! I think he is more ready than Morris to take over a program. He worked under Bob Stoops, arguably the best head coach in the game today.

- Bob Stitt - The head coach at the Colorado School of Mines (mascot: Orediggers). I don't know what to say. His name appeared in a post on CoachingSearch.com that metioned Chad Morris. He has a solid record and has a lot of head coaching experience, but up until ten minutes ago, I didn't know that the Colorado School of Mines existed, much less Bob Stitt. But, this would be a Debbie Yow surprise for sure.

- Manny Diaz - Many Wolfpack fans will remember this name from the Chuck Amato days. The University of Texas Defensive coordinator spent 5 seasons at NC State before moving on to be the DC at Middle Tennessee State. He was a huge part of the Pack's defensive success in the early part of the last decade. He may be a part of a under performing Texas Longhorn program, but they are still inside the top-20. He may have what it takes to bring the defense back to where it once so proudly stood.

- Mike Leach - This is the longest of long shots! If Yow wants someone to come in a reinvent the offense and energize the fan base behind it, then this guy is it. However, she says she wants someone with no ties to any drama or wrongdoing and this guy gets investigated everywhere he goes. Plus, his love for pirates may not sit right with a fan base that has a distinct hatred for the purple pirates in Greenville, NC. I think he is too pricey for the baggage that he would bring.


This list is sure to grow and I think we will see this search end soon. I think that the best option is Morris. However, Morris is currently the highest paid assistant coach in the country at over a $1 million a year. Can Debbie Yow make the money work? I think so. This fan base is desperate for a winning football program and there are definitely a lot of donors out there that would fork out the money to make whatever needs to happen, happen.

Thank You, TOB!!

First, I want to take a moment to thank the now former NC State Football Coach, Tom O'Brien (TOB), for his service and dedication to the University and its athletics program as a whole. Today marks a bittersweet day for NC State and its fans. TOB was a beloved figure by some. He instilled discipline to program that had very little under the previous tenure of Chuck Amato.

The decision to let TOB go came just a day after he and the Wolfpack defeated his former employer, Boston College, 27-10. The win improved the Pack to 7-5 on the season and certainly put their bowl hopes a little higher. However, the expectations coming into this season were much higher and this team fell far short from where they were supposed to be.

After getting beat like a drum by a dreadful Tennessee team in the season opener in Atlanta, the Pack reeled off 3 straight wins before losing a shootout in their conference opener against the Miami Hurricanes in Coral Gables, Fla. Then, the Pack pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season by beating the #3 ranked Florida State Seminoles at home. That was followed up with a nail biting win at Maryland that required a botched field goal by the Terps to secure the victory. Things were looking up at that point. Then came the game against UNC, who TOB had beaten 5 consecutive times, and it looked like the Pack was well on their way to a 6-2 start and destined to play for the ACC Championship. After a few fourth quarter blunders and and ridiculous decision to punt the ball to the nations top returner led to a last second victory for the Tar Heels on a punt return for a touchdown. The hangover spilled over the following game where the Pack failed to show up against Virginia and lost in convincing fashion at home. Many will point to that game as the one that sealed TOB's fate at NC State. TOB's Pack finished the season with a win against Wake Forest, a loss to Clemson and the win over BC. This was not enough to save TOB's job, unfortunately.

An overall record of 40-35 wasn't adequate for Debbie Yow, who seems hell bent on putting her own staff together. Mediocrity is unfortunately the lasting impression we will be left with of the TOB era at NC State. He definitely leaves the football program with a better foundation than it had when he first took the job 6 years ago. That should be what we remember about the stoic Leroy Jethro Gibbs-like football coach that took an undisciplined program over from Chuck Amato and turned it into one of the cleanest and best run programs in the country.

Thank you, TOB, for all that you have done! Best of luck in the future! Hope to see you fill some sort of role in the NCSU Athletics Department sometime soon.