The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1527657
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 ■ 23 snow out of his driveway so that he and his family could make the 100-mile drive to DeKalb, Ill., for his meeting. To Jeff Compher, then in his fourth year as Northern Illinois' athletics di- rector and a former athletics adminis- trator at NC State for 13 years, Doeren's determination to be on time confirmed everything he suspected about the up- and-coming coach. "Someone that was willing to do that, I knew they were committed to the next step in their career," he said. Doeren made it to the interview, where he impressed his future boss with his intelligence — both in football and off the field — along with his knowledge of the Midwest. Compher was sold, and on Dec. 13, 2010, Doeren was introduced as the 21st head coach in Northern Illinois history. He took over a team that had won 11 games the year before under Jerry Kill, but there was still an opportunity to raise the bar by winning a Mid-Ameri- can Conference crown, something the Minnesota-bound Kill hadn't done. Doeren found a way to do just that — and then some. He took the Huskies to new heights with a 23-4 record in his two seasons at the helm, winning back-to- back MAC titles and claiming an Orange Bowl berth. Although he was at Northern Illinois for only two seasons, the experience was a turning point in his career, giving him an opportunity to transition from an as- sistant to a head coach, one capable of leading a program like NC State. During his tenure with the Huskies, Doeren be- came who he is today, refining his coach- ing skill set so that he was prepared to use it on a bigger stage. "I learned a lot about doing things with less," Doeren said. "The motto of that school is 'The hard way,' and it's real. They have very few amenities there. You have to do a lot with a little, and I think I've always been good at that because of that experience." He's now NC State's winningest coach with 84 victories in his 12 seasons, and much of Doeren's coaching style can be traced back to his first opportunity to take charge of a program. Ready To Lead Unlike a lot of new head coaches, Do- eren didn't have to rebuild the program he had inherited. Kill had compiled a 23- 16 record, guiding the Huskies to bowl appearances in each of his three seasons. For Doeren, this was more of an oppor- tunity to make the job his own. That was the sales pitch Compher gave him in his communication leading up to the job offer. It seemed to pique the interest of Doeren, who had been prepar- ing for the right opportunity to become a first-time head coach. "I thought he'd be able to relate to our team and be able to instill his vision without taking away the momentum that we had as a football program at the time," Compher recalled. "He wasn't walking into a rebuild. He was walking into a 'let's make this thing even better than it is' situation." Doeren, who had been part of the Bad- gers' defensive staff since 2006, arrived at his interview with a list of assistant coaches he intended to hire. His pen- chant for thorough preparation allowed him to hit the ground running at North- ern Illinois. He was eager to touch all fac- ets of the program, instilling his vision of football throughout the entire building. "Even though he had never been a head coach before, he was very prepared and ready," Compher said. Doeren's new boss was not the only one who thought that. Jay Niemann had known Doeren since the newly hired head coach was a player at Drake in the early 1990s. Niemann was the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator at the time and was still at the school when Doeren re- turned to his alma mater in 1995 to coach the team's linebackers. When Doeren offered Niemann an op- portunity 16 years later to become the NC State Football Schedule Date Opponent Time (TV) Aug. 29 WESTERN CAROLINA W, 38-21 Sept. 7 vs. Tennessee* L, 51-10 Sept. 14 LOUISIANA TECH W, 30-20 Sept. 21 at Clemson L, 59-35 Sept. 28 NORTHERN ILLINOIS W, 24-17 Oct. 5 WAKE FOREST L, 34-30 Oct. 12 SYRACUSE 8 p.m. (ACCN) Oct. 19 at California 3:30 p.m. (ACCN) Nov. 2 STANFORD TBA Nov. 9 DUKE TBA Nov. 21 at Georgia Tech 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Nov. 30 at North Carolina TBA * at Charlotte, N.C. Heading into the Wolfpack's matchup against Syracuse on Oct. 12, Doeren had won 84 games at NC State, more than any coach in school history. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP " 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. Former Northern Illinois Defensive Coordinator Jay Niemann