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Update: This is official.
Both local and national outlets are reporting Northern Illinois head coach Dave Doeren will be the next head coach at N.C. State. Doeren's NIU team just won the MAC championship Friday night, giving itself a slight chance of a BCS at-large bid, though that likely went out the window with Oklahoma's win on Saturday.
Am being told that Dave Doeren has accepted the head job at NC State footballscoop.com/the-scoop
— FootballScoop Staff (@footballscoop) December 1, 2012
#NCSU is in the process of hiring Northern Illinois coach Dave Doeren.
— Jeff Gravley (@jgravleyWRAL) December 1, 2012
Doeren was also reportedly on Purdue's and Auburn's lists, with good reason. He's 23-4 in two years since taking over for Jerry Kill, with two straight MAC championships and a bowl victory to his name. His strength is on the defensive side of the ball, believe it or not, with his previous experience at Wisconsin, Kansas and elsewhere coming on that side of the ball.
If reports are accurate, he'll take over for Tom O'Brien, who was fired after constructing a series of mediocre seasons. Bringing on a MAC coach is interesting -- N.C. State had said it was looking for a coach capable of bringing in top-tier recruits.
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