Assuming coach D hangs around (expected by me) the next issue is replacing any assistants who either can’t cut it or more likely today move upward.
If I may offer an opinion about assistants at this point in time. The current staff has bought into Doeren’s vision and commitment. They are coaching in a culture that includes time for you family, personal growth and professional growth. It’s clear that Doeren cares about the players as people and he cares about the coaches as people. That caring isn’t pervasive in this profession.
Look no further than our neighbors in Orange County to see how much the coaches and administration cares about the players. College isn’t about learning, it’s about learning how to learn. Are the huge number of football players admitted with fake “learning disabilities” learning how to learn. Success in life is 10-20 percent inspiration and 80-90 percent perspiration. Fake learning disabilities with special treatment to remain eligible doesn’t help a young man in being successful in life.
Aside from their coaching abilities our coaches are here because they care about the young men they work with. Band of Brothers, Trench U, etc. Illustrations of the coaches caring are abundant.
If not this year, and it could be this year that we are competing for a national championship, then we are on the edge of competing. Not because we made incremental progress but because Doeren built the foundation the right way.
He put this staff together the right way as well. Dan Patrick, our DL coach has said publicly he loves it here — “they’ll have to fire me to get me out of Raleigh.” Des Kitchings turned down the HC job at Furman to stay with Doeren and the culture Doeren has established. And so it goes with the coaching staff, and the rest of the football staff. Doeren treats the staff right.
Not only is this team a tight with each other, but the coaches respect each other and work together. We’ve got it going here at NC State. With good karma we could be in the play-offs.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I’ve been sticking to it despite, as Rick said, some serious grief by many posters.
