Technician ran an opinion piece Tuesday by a guest columnist titled “Fire Dave Doeren: why we need a change.” The piece was written as a result of the NC State football team’s heart wrenching loss to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg Friday night. As a fellow NC State student, I can understand the sorrow of many Wolfpack fans after seeing the results of the Pack’s first two conference games.
Expectations were high at the start of this season. Coming off an eight-win campaign in 2014 had Wolfpack eager to see if senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett could lead this program to the promised land. Fast-forward to the present, and the atmosphere of the fan base is much different.
I have to admit, I too, had high expectations before the season started, and it does feel frustrating when any sports team you root for loses. That being said, just because the football team didn’t live up to your lofty expectations doesn’t give you the right to call for the firing of Coach Doeren, or anyone else for that matter.
If we made decisions based solely on unrealistic expectations, then a major change should have been made in the basketball program after the 2012-2013 season or the men’s soccer team after missing out on the NCAA Tournament in 2013, but that’s not how things work. As it stands, the basketball team is coming off a Sweet 16 appearance in March, while soccer is a top-20 program. Patience pays off.
Doeren is in his third year as head of the NC State football program. Before State, Doeren was at Northern Illinois. For those of you who don’t know, Northern Illinois competes in the Mid-American Conference. In Doeren’s final season at NIU before leaving for State, he lead the Huskies to a 12-1 record and an appearance in the Orange Bowl. It’s no secret Doeren can coach. When he arrived at State, he found a program that wasn’t in the best shape.
As the piece mentions, it does take time to build a winning college football program and Doeren has improved State’s program tremendously. It then mentions that it’s simply not enough, then what is enough?
The current landscape of college football has become an incredibly impatient one. Fans and boosters expect a new coach to come in and instantly turn their programs into perennial contenders from day one, but that’s just not how it works.
Let’s take a look at a fellow ACC football program just down the road. David Cutcliffe was hired by Duke to be its head coach before the 2008 season. Cutcliffe never won more than six games in his first five seasons with the Blue Devils nor did he finish higher than fifth in the Coastal Division. Even after those abysmal five seasons Duke didn’t fire him. Instead, they continued to support him, and it’s paid dividends for the Blue Devils. Including this season, Duke has won 24 games over the last three seasons after winning just 21 in the previous five.
Duke’s turnaround is a perfect example of an athletic program and fan base being patient and trusting in the guy they picked to lead their program. In a society where instant gratification has become a prominent theme, the best thing Wolfpack fans can do is just be patient and enjoy the ride.
