NC State coaching search: Two former SEC HCs mentioned as candidates
By Andrew Olson
Published:
There were no FBS head coaches fired through Week 7 of the 2026 college football season, but the coaching carousel is spinning now. Maryland became the first job to open up with the dismissal of Mike Locksley, and NC State followed days later with Dave Doeren’s firing.
Doeren posted a 98-73 record at NC State, taking the Wolfpack to a bowl game 11 times and finishing ranked in the AP Top 25 3 times. Many fans are curious about who NC State will hire as the program seeks to take the next step.
On his initial NC State hot board, college football insider Pete Nakos of On3 includes a pair of former SEC head coaches among the top candidates to replace Doeren. Nakos lists Dan Mullen and Brian Kelly among the candidates.
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Mullen, 54, is in his second season at UNLV. He’s 14-7 coaching the Rebels, bringing his overall record to 117-68, including his tenures at Mississippi State (69-46) and Florida (34-15).
Kelly, who turned 65 on Sunday, is currently an analyst for CBS Sports. He has a 297-109-2 head coaching record in his career across stops at Grand Valley State (Division II), Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and LSU. He went 34-14 at LSU before being fired amid a 5-3 start. Kelly left Notre Dame, where he went 92-39, to take the LSU job before the 2022 season.
It will be interesting to see where the NC State coaching search goes. Former Wolfpack star Philip Rivers is expected to be considered.
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Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
