The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1527657
26 ■ THE WOLFPACKER pulse of the team — both the big picture and the small details. Niemann thought Doeren's ability to do both was unique, especially for a first-time head coach. "Some coaches are a little bit oblivi- ous to things going on with the team," Niemann said. "He had a real knack for seeing what's going on from a program- wide perspective, as well as the ability to see what's going on with individuals in the program. … Some guys are good at individual relationships, others see the big picture. He had the ability to do both." Daniels noted that it was easy to play for Doeren since he knew whatever the coach said was going to pay off in the long run. "He was definitely a player's coach," Daniels said. "One guy I would compare him to now is Dan Campbell, the head coach of the Detroit Lions. He's just overall a tough guy. … He knew how to get under our skin, and he always chal- lenged us to be better." Mike Uremovich, who coached run- ning backs in 2012 at Northern Illinois before spending three seasons in charge of the offensive line at NC State, pointed to Doeren's communication skills as be- ing a key to his success. "He does a great job relating to the players, selling them on what we're try- ing to accomplish and then going out and doing it," Uremovich said. "He's just a blue collar, hard-working guy that I think the players identify with because they see him and his staff working hard. "And he's always going to tell them the truth, even if you don't want to hear it. You're going to respect the answer that you get because he's telling you the truth." Driven To Win Northern Illinois won the MAC championship in Doeren's first season, defeating Ohio, 23-20, in the conference title game and going on to beat Arkansas State, 38-20, in the GoDaddy.com Bowl, only the fourth bowl win in program history. The Huskies opened their 2012 season against Iowa at Soldier Field in Chicago. Coming off the program's first confer- ence crown since 1983, Doeren believed he had a good enough team to beat the Hawkeyes. The Huskies led 17-12 with just over two minutes left in the game before Iowa running back Damon Bullock scored a 23-yard touchdown to put the Hawkeyes ahead. Northern Illinois couldn't answer and left Chicago with an 18-17 loss. Doeren felt like it was a missed op- portunity, but pushing a Big Ten oppo- nent to the limit proved that he had a team that could defend its MAC title. The Huskies went on to win their next 12 games, including a 30-23 nonconference victory over Kansas and a 44-37 double- overtime triumph over Kent State in the MAC Championship Game. Just one day after the Huskies beat the 19th-ranked Golden Flashes to defend their league title, Doeren was introduced as the next head coach at NC State, tak- ing over on Dec. 1, 2012. Doeren hadn't intended to leave Northern Illinois so quickly when he first accepted the job, but after domi- nating the MAC, it was time for his next challenge. "I was really excited for an opportu- nity to come to NC State. I felt like I had done what I could do at NIU," Doeren said. "I felt like it was time to move for- ward with my opportunities, and it was sad and exciting all at the same time." In his 12 seasons in Raleigh, Doeren has helped take the program to historic highs. He's made NC State a consistent winner after a period of intermittent struggle that included eight nonwin- ning seasons in the 20 years prior to his arrival. And none of it might have hap- pened if Doeren hadn't trudged out into the frigid Midwestern weather to clear his snow-covered driveway so that he could interview for a new job. His de- termination to succeed helped alter the trajectory of two FBS programs. ■ Doeren spent five seasons on the defensive staff at Wisconsin before heading to Northern Illinois in 2011. PHOTO COURTESY WISCONSIN ATHLETICS