Identifying Top 5 NC State Wolfpack Coaching Candidates to Replace Dave Doeren

Who will be the next NC State football coach? A North Carolina State Wolfpack coaching search is underway after the program cut ties with Dave Doeren following more than a decade at the helm. It’s a desperately needed change for the program, and with the NC State coaching search officially underway, now we can take a look at potential targets in the college football coaching carousel.

Let’s dive into our list of NC State coaching candidates to replace Doeren in 2027.

Jake Dickert, Wake Forest Demon Deacons Head Coach

Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Jake Dickert should stand alone atop the NC State coaching candidates list. Really, the only question would be if another program that can offer the 43-year-old head coach better resources and more money comes calling. The Wolfpack should rightfully prioritize head-coaching experience and someone who runs a disciplined, fundamentally sound team to replace what Doeren left behind. Dickert’s resume offers a glowing example of all of that.

He served as the Washington State Cougars defensive coordinator for two seasons when that program needed help. Nick Rolovich was fired midway through the 2021 season, and Washington State simply wanted some respectability as it started its coaching search. Dickert made the team bowl eligible thanks to a 3-3 record, including victories over Arizona State (34-21), Arizona (44-18), and Washington (40-13), and the Cougars barely lost to BYU (21-19). That success got the interim tag removed, and he rewarded Washington State with winning records in two of his next three seasons. That put him on Wake Forest’s radar as the Dave Clawson replacement, and he’s instantly delivered a 15-5 record since taking over, with the program’s only loss this season coming against top-ranked Miami when his defense held the Hurricanes to a 38.5 percent third-down conversion rate with just 9 points scored in the second half. It seems unlikely at this point that the Wisconsin Badgers job opens up this year, so NC State should make a serious play for Dickert.

Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati Bearcats Head Coach

Head-coaching experience should be made a priority in the NC State coaching search. It’s just one of the many reasons why Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Scott Satterfield, a North Carolina native, should be one of the top targets to become the next head coach for the Wolfpack. Satterfield, who turns 54 in December, knows the region very well. The former Appalachian State quarterback became an assistant at his alma mater shortly after his playing days, first serving as wide receivers coach (1998) and later working with the program’s running backs (1999–2002) and quarterbacks (2003–2008) under College Football Hall of Famer Jerry Moore. Satterfield took what he learned under Moore to stops at Toledo and FIU before returning home and eventually succeeding Moore as the program’s head coach.

You want a proven track record with multiple programs? Satterfield delivers it. After going 4-8 in his first year during the transition at App State, the program went a combined 40-11 (.784 winning percentage) over his next four seasons, and they haven’t recaptured that level of sustained success since his departure. He turned that into rebuilding Louisville’s football program after it went 2-10 in 2018. The Cardinals posted winning records in 2019 and 2022 before Satterfield followed in the footsteps of Luke Fickell at Cincinnati. The Bearcats (5-2 this season) are coming off a win against eighth-ranked Texas Tech, and Satterfield’s offense put up 42 points and 622 total yards one week prior in the shootout loss (45-42) at West Virginia. If Dickert turns down NC State, Satterfield should be their next target.

Billy Napier, James Madison Dukes Head Coach

We’re again placing the initial focus on NC State coaching candidates who both have previously served as a head coach and won at multiple stops. It also helps that the last two James Madison Dukes head coaches (Bob Chesney and Curt Cignetti) have gone on to turn programs that were the doormats of the college football world into undefeated teams in the mix for the College Football Playoff. Can Billy Napier engineer that kind of turnaround at NC State? Perhaps not, but there’s a lot to like here for the Wolfpack.

For one thing, Napier deserves a ton of credit for not allowing James Madison to fall off in any way after Chesney’s departure. Chesney brought some key players and assistants from last year’s 12-2 team with him to UCLA, requiring Napier to rebuild the Dukes coaching staff and overhaul the roster. The team is on pace to win double-digit games in Napier’s first year at the helm, something neither Cignetti nor Chesney did in their first seasons as a head coach with the Dukes in the FBS. Through eight games, James Madison ranks 10th nationally in red-zone touchdown rate (95.1 percent), fifth in points per game (41.4), and 18th in total yards per game (456.2) and total yards per play (6.61). Napier will bring a level of excitement to Raleigh that fans have wanted to see from this Wolfpack offense for years, and he’s won at Louisiana (.769 winning percentage) before this stop. While the SEC might have been a bit too much for him, as his stint at Florida will attest to, he could put NC State back into contention for the ACC.

Bryant Haines, Indiana Hoosiers Defensive Coordinator

It’s only a matter of time until the reigning Broyles Award winner starts getting more attention in the college football coaching carousel. Indiana Hoosiers defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, age 41, has served on Curt Cignetti’s coaching staff since 2017, first being tapped to be the linebackers coach at Elon (2017–2018) before following Cignetti to James Madison (2019–2023) as linebackers coach and defensive coordinator, and now with Indiana. The Hoosiers defense was outstanding during their national championship run this past season, but quarterback Fernando Mendoza rightfully gets a majority of the credit for the program winning it all. In 2026, Haines’ defense is the reason for Indiana’s success. The Hoosiers rank fifth nationally in scoring defense (13.7 PPG), eighth in yards per play allowed (4.2), 14th in red-zone scores per game (2.0), and 16th in first downs per game allowed (17.0). He’s earned the right to finally become a head coach, and while he doesn’t have ties to North Carolina, this could be the Wolfpack’s chance to get in on the ground floor of a rising candidate before another Power 4 program does.

Philip Rivers, NC State Wolfpack Alum and St. Michael Catholic High School Football Head Coach

Gunner Rivers, a 247Sports four-star recruit in the 2027 class, is already committed to the NC State Wolfpack. There have also already been some initial rumors out of the NC State coaching search that Philip Rivers, who starred at quarterback for the program and has his No. 17 retired, could return to his alma mater as head coach. We certainly understand why there’d be some skepticism regarding his potential hire; he’s never coached in college, with his experience limited to his current stint at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama. With that said, he’s still well-regarded around the National Football League both for his football IQ and leadership. He’d be invested in NC State’s turnaround, and a program legend might be the right choice when it comes to convincing boosters and local companies to invest more money in turning the Wolfpack around. It would just be a massive gamble, and NC State would almost certainly be better off hiring an experienced head coach over Rivers, especially since his son is unlikely to back off his commitment anyway.