Posts Tagged ‘tom obrien’

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. 

After six seasons, North Carolina State let go Tom O'Brien earlier today. 

In four of his six seasons at the helm, O'Brien lead the program to a bowl a game, but always came up short of competing for the ACC title. The Wolfpack finished 7-5 this season, and O'Brien compiled a 40-35 record overall in Raleigh (with eight of those wins coming against FCS competition). His best season was 2010 where he led NC State to a 9-4 record, but since then their win total has diminished by one each year.

In conference play, O'Brien was just 22-26 and finished above the .500 mark just once. Atlantic Division road games were always an area of concern under O'Brien as well, as he went just 1-14 in six seasons. 

Although the Wolfpack found a way to beat a top 3 Florida State team the first weekend of October, they struggled with consistency issues all season. They lost to Tennessee to open the season by two touchdowns, and then gave up a 10 point lead to eventually lose to Miami. Later in the season, Virginia came into Raleigh on a six game losing streak and took home a 33-6 win.

In his official statement, O'Brien (who has been coaching at the college level since 1975), noted that he is finally "looking forward to life after football."

“I appreciate the opportunity to have coached at North Carolina State University and I feel that the program is in a better place now than when I started. I’m proud of the young men that I have coached here, for their accomplishments on the field and in the classroom. Wolfpack football is as sound academically as it’s ever been with a [single year] APR of 990 to be reported this spring. I appreciate all of my coaches and wish them the best and I look forward to life after football.” O'Brien said. 

Offensive coordinator Dana Bible will take over on an interim basis for the bowl game, and all assistants have been retained as they continue their bowl preparations. Athletic director Debbie Yow will meet with the media at 5pm ET today.

Here is a link to North Carolina State's official announcement.