The NC State Wolfpack college football team represents North Carolina State University (NC State) in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Wolfpack compete as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 36 head coaches since it began play during the 1892 season. Since December 2012, Dave Doeren has served as head coach at NC State.[1]
Ten coaches have led NC State in postseason bowl games: Beattie Feathers, Earle Edwards, Lou Holtz, Bo Rein, Dick Sheridan, Mike O'Cain, Chuck Amato, Tom O'Brien, Dana Bible, and Doeren. Five of those coaches also won conference championships: Edward L. Greene captured one as a member of the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association; Gus Tebell captured one as a member of the Southern Conference; and Edwards captured five, Holtz one, and Rein one as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Edwards is the leader in seasons coached with 17 years as head coach and games won with 77. Mickey Whitehurst has the highest winning percentage at 0.893. John Van Liew and Horace Hendrickson have the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with 0.200. Of the 36 different head coaches who have led the Wolfpack, Willie Heston, Buck Shaw, John "Clipper" Smith, Hunk Anderson, Holtz, and Sheridan have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason[A 1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches[A 2] | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties[A 3] | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage[A 4] | ||||
Coaches
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 3 |
Perrin Busbee | 1892 1896–1897 |
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.600 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Bart Gatling | 1893–1895 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | W. C. Riddick | 1898–1899 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0.300 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | John McKee | 1900–1901 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0.333 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Art Devlin | 1902–1903 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 0.471 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | Willis Kienholz | 1904 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.667 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | George S. Whitney | 1905 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0.750 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | Willie Heston† | 1906 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0.625 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Mickey Whitehurst | 1907–1908 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0.893 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | Edward L. Greene | 1909–1913 | 35 | 25 | 8 | 2 | 0.743 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.500 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
| 12 | Jack Hegarty | 1914–1915 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0.462 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0.100 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 13 | Britain Patterson | 1916 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0.286 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 14 17 |
Harry Hartsell | 1917 1921–1923 |
38 | 16 | 18 | 4 | 0.474 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 0.316 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 15 | Tal Stafford | 1918 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.250 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 16 | Bill Fetzer | 1919–1920 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0.737 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.700 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 18 | Buck Shaw† | 1924 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0.300 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0.250 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 19 | Gus Tebell | 1925–1929 | 48 | 21 | 25 | 2 | 0.458 | 5 | 16 | 2 | 0.261 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
| 20 | John Van Liew | 1930 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.200 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0.167 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 21 | John "Clipper" Smith† | 1931–1933 | 27 | 10 | 12 | 5 | 0.463 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0.367 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 22 | Hunk Anderson† | 1934–1936 | 29 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 0.397 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0.367 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 23 | Williams Newton | 1937–1943 | 69 | 24 | 39 | 6 | 0.391 | 19 | 24 | 6 | 0.449 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 24 | Beattie Feathers | 1944–1951 | 78 | 37 | 38 | 3 | 0.494 | 24 | 28 | 3 | 0.464 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 25 | Horace Hendrickson | 1952–1953 | 20 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0.200 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0.222 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 26 | Earle Edwards | 1954–1970 | 173 | 77 | 88 | 8 | 0.468 | 55 | 45 | 5 | 0.548 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | — | — |
| 27 | Al Michaels | 1971 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0.273 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0.286 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 28 | Lou Holtz† | 1972–1975 | 48 | 33 | 12 | 3 | 0.719 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 0.739 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 29 | Bo Rein | 1976–1979 | 46 | 27 | 18 | 1 | 0.598 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0.652 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | — |
| 30 | Monte Kiffin | 1980–1982 | 33 | 16 | 17 | 0 | 0.485 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0.444 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 31 | Tom Reed | 1983–1985 | 33 | 9 | 24 | 0 | 0.273 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0.190 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 32 | Dick Sheridan† | 1986–1992 | 84 | 52 | 29 | 3 | 0.637 | 31 | 18 | 1 | 0.630 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 33 | Mike O'Cain | 1993–1999 | 81 | 41 | 40 | 0 | 0.506 | 26 | 30 | 0 | 0.464 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 34 | Chuck Amato | 2000–2006 | 86 | 49 | 37 | — | 0.570 | 25 | 31 | — | 0.446 | 4 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 35 | Tom O'Brien | 2007–2012 | 75 | 40 | 35 | — | 0.533 | 22 | 26 | — | 0.458 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Int. | Dana Bible [A 6] |
2012 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | .000 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 36 | Dave Doeren | 2013–present | 139 | 81 | 58 | — | 0.583 | 44 | 46 | — | 0.489 | 3 | 5 | — | 0 | — | — |
Notes
- ^ Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.[2]
- ^ A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- ^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.[3]
- ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[4]
- ^ Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
- ^ Bible served as interim head coach of the Wolfpack for the 2012 Music City Bowl after Tom O'Brien was fired at the conclusion of the 2012 regular season.[5]
References
- ^ Adelson, Andrea (December 1, 2012). "NC State hires Dave Doeren". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- ^ Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ Adelson, Andrea (November 25, 2012). "NC State fires Tom O'Brien". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "North Carolina State Wolfpack School History". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 31, 2023.