NC State football hired a new defensive coordinator who will surprise many people in Raleigh. Head coach Dave Doeren is coming off a tough season, which ended in an ugly, brawl-filled bowl loss to East Carolina. The Wolfpack came into the season expecting to potentially contend for an ACC Championship but finished the season 6-7 and tenth in the conference. While there were some injuries holding the team back that were out of Doeren's control, the NC State defense had an overall very disappointing year.

With defensive coordinator Tony Gibson leaving for the Marshall head coach job earlier this December, the Wolfpack are looking to a veteran coach to fill this void. According to College Football Senior Writer for ESPN, Pete Thamel, NC Carolina State is expected to hire D.J. Eliot as the new DC. Eliot was most recently a linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles but also previously served as the defensive coordinator at Colorado, Kentucky, Kansas, and Temple.

With hope at the QB position, Dave Doeren heads into a critical 2025

North Carolina State Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey (16) scramble by East Carolina Pirates linebacker Mike Edwards III (10) during the second half of the Go Bowling Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
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One of the primary sources of adversity that Dave Doeren had to endure early in the year was the uncertainty of the quarterback position. Decorated former Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall, who transferred to NC State this offseason, struggled this year with health setbacks. McCall eventually retired from the sport due to a brain injury he suffered against Wake Forest.

Wolfpack ultimately started freshman CJ Bailey under center for much of the season. Bailey had a very solid first year in Raleigh. The Miami, Florida native threw for 17 touchdowns and ten interceptions, putting together the 63rd-best QBR in the country. Bailey, therefore, has seemingly provided stability at the quarterback position for the foreseeable future at NC State. However, for this team to improve next season, the defense must significantly improve.

NC State's scoring defense ranked third-last in the ACC, giving 30.2 points per game. That's a far cry for a unit that was third in the conference in this same metric last year. Eliot brings a wealth of experience to this position, with some success and some struggles. However, Wolfpack is the most stable program he's joined as a DC in his career as Dave Doeren's teams have finished with four or fewer losses in five out of his last eight seasons.

The Wolfpack will have the 37th-ranked recruiting class coming in next season and have been aggressive in the transfer portal. With the twelve-team College Football Playoff, NC State should hope to contend for a spot in the bracket very soon. Should Dave Doeren's team not show the kind of progress that indicates they are marching toward this possibility, then questions will be asked about the program's overall direction.