---
title: "NC State Opens Post-Doeren Era Against Cal in Raleigh"
url: https://www.hereraleigh.com/2026/10/30/nc-state-post-doeren-era-cal-cowher-advises-search-raleigh/
date: 2026-10-30T08:08:37-04:00
modified: 2026-10-30T08:08:37-04:00
author: "Jacob Salazar"
categories: ["Sports"]
site: "HERE Raleigh"
attribution: "HERE Raleigh"
---

# NC State Opens Post-Doeren Era Against Cal in Raleigh

> RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State will play a football game in Raleigh this weekend without Dave Doeren running the show, something that has not happened since 2013. The Wolfpack host Cal on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium under interim coach Todd Goebbel, while a familiar name helps pick the program's next leader. The school let Doeren

*Source: [HERE Raleigh](https://www.hereraleigh.com/2026/10/30/nc-state-post-doeren-era-cal-cowher-advises-search-raleigh/) — October 30, 2026 by Jacob Salazar*

RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State will play a football game in Raleigh this weekend without Dave Doeren running the show, something that has not happened since 2013. The Wolfpack host Cal on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium under interim coach Todd Goebbel, while a familiar name helps pick the program’s next leader.

The school let Doeren go on Saturday. The move came hours after the Wolfpack fell 31-28 at Stanford, a result that left them 3-4 on the season and 1-3 against ACC opponents. He leaves as the winningest coach in school history with 98 victories and 11 bowl trips. The general manager and defensive coordinator DJ Eliot were also let go over the weekend, and Charlton Warren is now calling the defense.

Goebbel, the running backs coach and the team’s special teams coordinator since 2019, will run the program for the rest of the season. He has tried to keep the locker room focused on the last five games rather than on who gets the job next. Cal comes to town at 3-5 and 2-3 in league play.

The search itself will be led by athletic director Boo Corrigan. In a letter to fans, Corrigan and Chancellor Kevin Howell said he will lean on a group of trusted advisers, and two of them once played for the Wolfpack: Dewayne Washington and Bill Cowher, who is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Cowher played linebacker at NC State from 1975 to 1978 and went on to coach the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 seasons, winning Super Bowl XL. He is now in his 20th season as a television football analyst and will split his time between that job and helping vet candidates.

Doeren said goodbye in a farewell address on Tuesday. Saturday’s game against Cal starts the final five-game stretch that will shape how the next coach inherits the program.