RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State kept cleaning house Sunday, relieving defensive coordinator DJ Eliot of his duties one day after the Wolfpack dismissed head coach Dave Doeren and general manager Andy Vaughn.
The university said Charlton Warren will call the defense for the rest of the season. Zac Roper takes over the running backs and will also coordinate special teams, duties that opened up when running backs coach Todd Goebbel was named interim head coach.
The firings came on the heels of Friday’s 31-28 defeat at Stanford, which left NC State at 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC. Stanford, one of the lowest-scoring offenses in the country, jumped out 14-0, later stretched the margin to 28-14 and was never behind.
Defense had been the sore spot. Through six games this fall the Wolfpack ranked 104th nationally in scoring defense at 27.7 points allowed per game, and last season they gave up 411.9 yards a game, 109th in the nation, including 273.2 through the air.
The Wolfpack hired Eliot on the last day of 2024 after his predecessor, Tony Gibson, took the top job at Marshall. Eliot swapped out the 3-3-5 base that Gibson ran for a more varied scheme built on 3-4 and four-man fronts, hoping to rattle opposing quarterbacks, but his tenure ended short of two full seasons.
Doeren leaves as the winningest coach in program history with 98 victories over 14 seasons in Raleigh. Athletic director Boo Corrigan thanked him for his service and for representing the university with pride.
Goebbel is scheduled to meet the media for the first time as interim coach Monday at 5 p.m. The Wolfpack return to Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday to host Cal, which is 3-5 overall and 2-3 in league play.
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