Why NC State’s Dave Doeren, the ACC’s second-longest tenured head coach, is still going in his 13th season

Dave Doeren’s fourth floor office inside the Murphy Center is adorned with mementos from his first dozen seasons on the sideline at NC State.  There’s a row of commemorative footballs on top of his desk, including some from wins over North Carolina, while a framed jersey hangs on the wall nearby.  The spacious room, which features a large wooden desk on the right, a set of couches on the left and a large bookshelf with photos and other trinkets a few steps away, has the feeling of someone who’s lived in it for a while. It’s a second home during the grueling schedule of a college football season, and Doeren has had plenty of time to add to its character over the years. After all, the once up-and-coming coach that took Northern Illinois to the Orange Bowl in 2012, has become one of the anomalies in this era of college football. Doeren doesn’t have to look far to notice, either.