Notes from NC State's press conference

N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow held a press conference Sunday afternoon in the wake of dismissing head coach Tom O'Brien earlier today. 

Yow began the press conference by stating her respect for O'Brien, and that she expects the next head coach to share O'Brien's character. 

This being Tobacco Road, Mark Gottfried's success with the Wolfpack's basketball program will be used as a measuring stick for the football program. Yow knows the road to the top 25 starts with finding a great recruiter. "It starts at home. We're going to have to get our fair share of the top 50 players in North Carolina."

Yow has already had conversations with agents and search firms about this particular search. In line with what we're hearing, N.C. State will look primarily at current head coaches but did not rule out hiring a coordinator.

Speaking of coordinators, Yow invoked Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin's name unprompted to say that he was not a candidate. Before taking his first head coaching job with the Commodores, Franklin was the offensive coordinator at Maryland while Yow was the Terrapins' AD. Yow stated that the two have been friends for 12 years and they text occasionally. She has not offered Franklin the N.C. State job, offering that Franklin is very happy with what he's built at Vanderbilt. 

Another unsolicited anecdote Yow offered was that a factor in O'Brien's dismissal was a declining season ticket base. The Wolfpack have lost 1,000 season ticket holders and, thus, $1.4 million in revenue, over the past six years.