Update (12:35 p.m.)
Update (12:30 p.m.)
More momentum towards Doeren staying? (Worth noting that this particular reporter does not have the strongest track record.)
Update (12:30 p.m.)
The end does appear to be in sight after a long morning of waiting. One well-known and well-connected insider on the Tennessee Rivals board has caused a stir with a post that Dave Doeren has accepted the UT position. However, within the last few minutes we have received a tidbit from a source loosely connected to search firms but has been reliable in the past that Doeren is expected to turn the job down.
In other words, we wait with conflicting signals out there.
Update (11:35 p.m.)
A nugget from VolQuest.com's Brent Hubbs reports that he has one source that said Doeren has held a staff meeting within the last hour at NC State to go over the recruiting weekend at NCSU, but he could not confirm that. However, we bring that up because of this recent tweet within the last half hour from offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz.
Update (10:45 a.m.)
A source informs us that Doeren's offer from Tennessee is six years, $24 million fully guaranteed.
Update (10:30 a.m.)
As of earlier this morning there had not been a resolution on Doeren's deliberations. We have spoken to three sources since last night and into this morning who were probably accurately described as glass half-empty on Doeren returning to NC State. As one source noted, it would be a lot of money to turn down to return to NC State.
We do not have exact dollar amounts on Tennessee's offer, but it is rumored to be in the $4.5 million annually range. We do believe that NC State's offer is in the 3 to 3.3 million range (probably close to three but one source did tell us 3.3). As noted in the thread, NCSU has also made a nice compensation package for its assistant coaches (a pool of $750,000 for raises and added guaranteed years to their respective contracts).
That said, the deal has not come together quickly which shows that Doeren is clearly thinking it over, and the offer put forth by NC State is believed to be close to what Doeren was originally hoping to receive when the two sides first talked midseason.
Thus the ball is in Doeren's court, and we simply wait to see. As one source said this morning, the hope is that this will end quickly.
FWIW ... there was a rumor that former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer has been involved in the pitch to Doeren and may have even spent time with him last night, but that has not been confirmed.
Update (12:30 a.m.)
Multiple sources confirm that NC State is now willing to give Doeren a fifth year on the extension as well as provide a significant compensation bump to both him and his staff. However, it also appears that UT has made a significant offer of its own that is over $1 million more in annual play.
Doeren is expected to come to a conclusion Tuesday.
Update (10:30 p.m.)
There were rumors that head coach Dave Doeren was supposed to join assistant coach Des Kitchings at Ricky Person's for an in-home visit tonight but instead it was just Kitchings. Take that FWIW.
Another source has heard that Doeren may have met with UT tonight but again that is not confirmed. It would match what one other source told us after this original post.
A little bit of clarification (which may actually add to some of the confusion to be honest).
We have heard now that NC State is willing to go one year added onto the already automatic extension to 2020, meaning he would be under contract until 2021. Doeren may be seeking an overall extension that pushes out five years to 2022.
There are also rumors of a pretty extensive raise being offered plus additional compensation for the assistant coaches. That said, the dollar figures being reportedly thrown around by Tennessee would still be substantially above what NCSU probably can go by $1-plus million.
Here are a few things that have been reported and what we can and cannot confirm at this point:
Report: Dave Doeren has/will meet with Tennessee officials today
The News and Observer’s Joe Giglio is reporting that is not the case, and we tend to believe him although we cannot confirm that. Doeren has reportedly been recruiting locally for NC State today. That said, a source very close to the situation does believe that at some point Doeren and Tennessee are likely to meet, presuming that NC State and Doeren do not come to terms on a contract extension in the meantime.
Giglio also reported that Doeren’s preference is to remain at NC State, and we also believe that is the case.
Report: Dave Doeren was going to be the next Ole Miss coach
We do not believe that report is true, as Giglio also noted. He did not meet with them prior to the UNC game. He also had questions regarding the looming NCAA sanctions that would have probably been difficult for Ole Miss to have answered.
Report: Contract negotiations have stalled
This is true, and we have heard it from multiple sources. The two sides have been apart both financially and length-wise. Both sides met in midseason and were further apart at that point than they are now. We believe that Doeren is seeking a five-year extension on top of his original contract while NCSU is prepared to go three (although some think it would be willing to consider four). Piecing the pieces together, the dollar amount difference is not astronomical. The length of the contract may be the stickier point.
Doeren, with his automatic $100,000 raise boosting his salary to $2,312,600 annually going forward, is believed to be the 10th highest paid coach out of 14 in the ACC and fifth out of seven in the Atlantic ahead of Syracuse’s Dino Babers and Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson, but that cannot be confirmed because Babers’ salary is not public. Mark Richt's contract is also private at Miami but he is presumed to be making more money than Doeren. Boston College’s Steve Addazio is fourth in the Atlantic Division, ahead of Doeren ($2,448,949).
At this point however, we believe that NC State feels it has put forth a fair offer and is willing to stand on it. The expectation is that Tennessee, if it decides to pursue Doeren, will offer in the range of $4-6 million annually.
Update (12:30 p.m.)
More momentum towards Doeren staying? (Worth noting that this particular reporter does not have the strongest track record.)
Update (12:30 p.m.)
The end does appear to be in sight after a long morning of waiting. One well-known and well-connected insider on the Tennessee Rivals board has caused a stir with a post that Dave Doeren has accepted the UT position. However, within the last few minutes we have received a tidbit from a source loosely connected to search firms but has been reliable in the past that Doeren is expected to turn the job down.
In other words, we wait with conflicting signals out there.
Update (11:35 p.m.)
A nugget from VolQuest.com's Brent Hubbs reports that he has one source that said Doeren has held a staff meeting within the last hour at NC State to go over the recruiting weekend at NCSU, but he could not confirm that. However, we bring that up because of this recent tweet within the last half hour from offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz.
Update (10:45 a.m.)
A source informs us that Doeren's offer from Tennessee is six years, $24 million fully guaranteed.
Update (10:30 a.m.)
As of earlier this morning there had not been a resolution on Doeren's deliberations. We have spoken to three sources since last night and into this morning who were probably accurately described as glass half-empty on Doeren returning to NC State. As one source noted, it would be a lot of money to turn down to return to NC State.
We do not have exact dollar amounts on Tennessee's offer, but it is rumored to be in the $4.5 million annually range. We do believe that NC State's offer is in the 3 to 3.3 million range (probably close to three but one source did tell us 3.3). As noted in the thread, NCSU has also made a nice compensation package for its assistant coaches (a pool of $750,000 for raises and added guaranteed years to their respective contracts).
That said, the deal has not come together quickly which shows that Doeren is clearly thinking it over, and the offer put forth by NC State is believed to be close to what Doeren was originally hoping to receive when the two sides first talked midseason.
Thus the ball is in Doeren's court, and we simply wait to see. As one source said this morning, the hope is that this will end quickly.
FWIW ... there was a rumor that former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer has been involved in the pitch to Doeren and may have even spent time with him last night, but that has not been confirmed.
Update (12:30 a.m.)
Multiple sources confirm that NC State is now willing to give Doeren a fifth year on the extension as well as provide a significant compensation bump to both him and his staff. However, it also appears that UT has made a significant offer of its own that is over $1 million more in annual play.
Doeren is expected to come to a conclusion Tuesday.
Update (10:30 p.m.)
There were rumors that head coach Dave Doeren was supposed to join assistant coach Des Kitchings at Ricky Person's for an in-home visit tonight but instead it was just Kitchings. Take that FWIW.
Another source has heard that Doeren may have met with UT tonight but again that is not confirmed. It would match what one other source told us after this original post.
A little bit of clarification (which may actually add to some of the confusion to be honest).
We have heard now that NC State is willing to go one year added onto the already automatic extension to 2020, meaning he would be under contract until 2021. Doeren may be seeking an overall extension that pushes out five years to 2022.
There are also rumors of a pretty extensive raise being offered plus additional compensation for the assistant coaches. That said, the dollar figures being reportedly thrown around by Tennessee would still be substantially above what NCSU probably can go by $1-plus million.
Here are a few things that have been reported and what we can and cannot confirm at this point:
Report: Dave Doeren has/will meet with Tennessee officials today
The News and Observer’s Joe Giglio is reporting that is not the case, and we tend to believe him although we cannot confirm that. Doeren has reportedly been recruiting locally for NC State today. That said, a source very close to the situation does believe that at some point Doeren and Tennessee are likely to meet, presuming that NC State and Doeren do not come to terms on a contract extension in the meantime.
Giglio also reported that Doeren’s preference is to remain at NC State, and we also believe that is the case.
Report: Dave Doeren was going to be the next Ole Miss coach
We do not believe that report is true, as Giglio also noted. He did not meet with them prior to the UNC game. He also had questions regarding the looming NCAA sanctions that would have probably been difficult for Ole Miss to have answered.
Report: Contract negotiations have stalled
This is true, and we have heard it from multiple sources. The two sides have been apart both financially and length-wise. Both sides met in midseason and were further apart at that point than they are now. We believe that Doeren is seeking a five-year extension on top of his original contract while NCSU is prepared to go three (although some think it would be willing to consider four). Piecing the pieces together, the dollar amount difference is not astronomical. The length of the contract may be the stickier point.
Doeren, with his automatic $100,000 raise boosting his salary to $2,312,600 annually going forward, is believed to be the 10th highest paid coach out of 14 in the ACC and fifth out of seven in the Atlantic ahead of Syracuse’s Dino Babers and Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson, but that cannot be confirmed because Babers’ salary is not public. Mark Richt's contract is also private at Miami but he is presumed to be making more money than Doeren. Boston College’s Steve Addazio is fourth in the Atlantic Division, ahead of Doeren ($2,448,949).
At this point however, we believe that NC State feels it has put forth a fair offer and is willing to stand on it. The expectation is that Tennessee, if it decides to pursue Doeren, will offer in the range of $4-6 million annually.
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