Head coach Dave Doeren announced Thursday that Charley Wiles will replace Kevin Patrick as defensive line coach. Patrick has since joined head coach Willie Taggart’s staff at Florida Atlantic University. Wiles spent 24 years coaching the defensive line at Virginia Tech, joining his colleague cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell in moving to NC State as head coach Bud Foster retires.
“I’m very excited to bring Charley to our staff, he’s a highly-decorated and respected coach – not only in our region and conference, but in our profession,” Doeren said in a release. “I look forward to having his personality around our guys and I know that he will bring an extremely positive attitude, a great work ethic, and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to developing and coaching defensive linemen. He also brings a history of incredible success recruiting in the state of North Carolina.”
Wiles is known for the consistency of his unit, with Virginia Tech totaling 856 sacks during his time with the Hokies, the best in the country. He has coached five All-Americans, most recently Darryl Tapp in 2005, and 26 of his players have been All-ACC. Wiles was beloved by players and fans in Blacksburg, receiving the lunch pail from Foster after last season ended. Wiles is one of only two to receive that honor from Foster, who had nothing but good things to say about his defensive line coach, who was let go before the Hokies’ bowl game.
“I love him like a brother,” Foster told 247Sports in December. “I will say this about Charley Wiles. I don’t know if he’s had a bad day in his life. I know he was extremely disappointed and hurt. I was hoping he would stay and coach in this game.”
The transition to Raleigh should be a pretty easy one. Wiles is familiar with the region, having recruited North Carolina’s defensive talent heavily for Virginia Tech. Many of NC State’s current defensive linemen were also pursued by Wiles, and now he gets to develop those very talented but unproven players.
“I can’t wait to get to work, get to know our defensive line and become a part of Wolfpack Nation,” Wiles said in a release. “Andi [Wiles] and I are excited about living in the Raleigh area and to be a part of what is happening at NC State. Coach Doeren has been great through this whole process and I look forward to working with him, Coach [Tony] Gibson and the rest of the defensive staff.”
