REPORT: Tom O’Brien Fired; [Update]5pm Presser Notes and Video

Coaches Coaching Carousel Debbie Yow NCS Football Tom O'Brien101

[Update 5pm Presser]

Here’s some quick notes regarding the highlights (paraphrased) from what AD Debbie Yow had to say during today’s press conference (link to full video at bottom of notes)….

  • Differences in philosophy on recruiting definitely an issue with the decision for change.
  • All assistants are currently retained and depending upon new hire for HC, will have the opportunity to stay if appropriate (impression is that this will be up to new hire, of course).
  • Search committee was formed today, will meet for the first time tonite.
  • Disappointing results based on this year’s expectations definitely a major factor.
  • Ideal candidate will “not have a hint” of improprieties in their past and this will remove several prospective candidates.  Will also have passion and vision, and have a plan to make NC State a consistent top 25 football program.
  • Head coaching experience/proven track record would be a plus, but no HC experience is NOT necessarily a deal breaker for the right candidate. (Mentioned that she does not consider that Vandy coach James Franklin is a candidate at this point)
  • Player’s reactions were generally “respectful and quiet”.
  • Another factor in the decision is the loss of over 1000 season ticket holders, and the resulting loss of over $1.4M in revenue to the athletics dept.
  • DY stated that when/if TOB feels appropriate, he would be welcome to be a part of the dept. in some capacity.
  • Declined to give specifics on the money that will be spent on new HC contract.
  • Timetable: ASAP, but will take the time to do it right.  Current recruits are a concern, but getting right person is more important.  Current recruits/commits will be honored.  Have already contacted search firm.
  • Did NOT ask TOB to make staff changes.  Buyout is approx. $1.2M over four years.

Debbie Yow Press Conference Re: The Firing of Head Football Coach Tom O’Brien (WRALSportsfan.com)

 

[Update 2:05pm] TOB statement from press release:

“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,” O’Brien said in a statement released by the school. “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.”

 

Kinda Sounds like a de facto retirement.

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[Original Entry]

Information still coming in, but Jeff Gravely (WRAL) is reporting that TOB has been “released” and this has been confirmed through Debbie Yow herself.  It is further being reported that TOB will NOT coach the Wolfpack in whichever bowl game in which it plays, but rather that Dana Bible will serve as interim Head Coach.

A Press conference is reportedly scheduled for 5pm.

O’Brien era ends at NC State (WRALSportsFan.com)

Raleigh, N.C. — Less than 24 hours after a 27-10 win over Boston College to finish the 2012 season, North Carolina State head coach Tom O’Brien has been “released” of his duties, athletics director Debbie Yow said Sunday.

O’Brien has guided the Wolfpack to three consecutive bowl games and four in the past five seasons. NC State finished this season 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the ACC.

In six seasons at NC State, O’Brien was 40-35 but failed to crack the .500 mark in conference play, posting a 22-26 record. He came to Raleigh from Boston College in Dec. 2006 and signed a 7-year deal that was to pay him $1.1 million annually.

A press conference has been called for 5 p.m. Sunday to formally announce the move. It is expected that the search for a replacement will begin immediately.

 

O’Brien out at N.C. State (N&O – ACCNow Blog)

RALEIGH — Tom O’Brien has led N.C. State to three straight bowl games, and four in five seasons, but it wasn’t enough to save his job. O’Brien will not return for a seventh season, the school announced on Sunday.

O’Brien compiled a 40-35 record in six seasons with a 22-26 mark in the ACC. O’Brien’s contract runs through Dec. 2015 and he will be paid at least $1.2 million over the next three years.

The Wolfpack completed a 7-5 regular season on Saturday with a home win over Boston College and will play in a bowl game with offensive coordinator Dana Bible as the interim coach.

This will be the sixth coaching hire, including both major revenue sports, for N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow, who was hired in July 2010.

The search for O’Brien’s replacement will begin immediately. Vanderbilt’s James Franklin is expected to be Yow’s top target. Yow once hired Franklin to succeed Ralph Friedgen at Maryland but that plan was scrapped when Yow left Maryland in 2010 and Friedgen was fired a year later.

We’ll continue to update this entry as more information becomes available.

For more discussion be sure to head here.

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About Wufpacker

A 2nd generation alumnus and raised since birth to be irrationally dedicated to all things NC State. Class of '88 and '92.

Coaches Coaching Carousel Debbie Yow NCS Football Tom O'Brien

101 Responses to REPORT: Tom O’Brien Fired; [Update]5pm Presser Notes and Video

  1. RabidWolf 11/25/2012 at 1:12 PM #

    Wow, I hadn’t even finished typing this on the other page when this popped up of sfn….getting slow in my old age. Let the rumors flow!

  2. NCSU84 11/25/2012 at 1:14 PM #

    WRAL web site confirms

  3. mak4dpak 11/25/2012 at 1:16 PM #

    I truly hate this had to happen, but ole Tom was just set in his ways, and had no room for change, thus our continued mediocrity. Perhaps the poor job of his assistants ultimately did him in, but it falls back on him. I wish him well!

  4. TLeo 11/25/2012 at 1:19 PM #

    Wow—-wasn’t expecting it this quick, more like after the bowl game. I have to admit to mixed feelings because I like the guy and the way he ran the program but he just wasn’t getting the results on the field. I will always believe that part(maybe even a great deal) of that fault has been Bible and Archer but he has’t been willing to make those changes so I guess it had to come to this. I wish him the best, now let’s support DY in the effort to get a good replacement.

  5. 61Packer 11/25/2012 at 1:23 PM #

    DY doesn’t mess around.

  6. mak4dpak 11/25/2012 at 1:23 PM #

    Tleo, sounds like alot of us were thinking the same thing.

  7. NCSU84 11/25/2012 at 1:25 PM #

    I’m sure Debbie knows what she is doing given the timing of this announcement (before bowl game). She has something ‘up her sleeve ‘. I think firing vs retirement works out best for TOB. Since he was fired, we will have to honor the contract which means more $$ for TOB. I wish him well and thank him for his service.

  8. WendellPackster 11/25/2012 at 1:25 PM #

    Nice! Now go get Cowher or Franklin!

  9. PackerInRussia 11/25/2012 at 1:31 PM #

    TLeo, I agree; also have mixed feelings. Wanted to see him succeed and really appreciate the off-the-field things he did. But, also wanted to see the team win more.

  10. FunPack 11/25/2012 at 1:32 PM #

    “I truly hate this had to happen, but ole Tom was just set in his ways, and had no room for change, thus our continued mediocrity. Perhaps the poor job of his assistants ultimately did him in, but it falls back on him. I wish him well!”

    “Wow—-wasn’t expecting it this quick, more like after the bowl game. I have to admit to mixed feelings because I like the guy and the way he ran the program but he just wasn’t getting the results on the field. I will always believe that part(maybe even a great deal) of that fault has been Bible and Archer but he has’t been willing to make those changes so I guess it had to come to this. I wish him the best, now let’s support DY in the effort to get a good replacement.”

    These comments pretty much capture my feelings too. I think the world of TOB but sometimes you have to make hard decisions in order to move forward. I wish there was some way we could have a long, continued, respectful association with TOB but I know that seems unlikely at this point.

  11. TLeo 11/25/2012 at 1:36 PM #

    It would be interesting to know if he was given the opportunity to make the bowl game his final game or not. If not, I wonder if something is already in the works for a replacement????

  12. BureauOfMines 11/25/2012 at 1:40 PM #

    “DY doesn’t mess around.”

    No, she doesn’t.

    I’m OK with this. We all knew it was coming. The only question was the timing.

  13. Tuffy2 11/25/2012 at 1:41 PM #

    DY DOES NOT MESS AROUND……

    GOODBYE.

  14. OldWuf 11/25/2012 at 1:48 PM #

    “Wolfpack football is as sound academically as it’s ever been with a [single year] APR of 990 to be reported this spring.” Should have added: ” at a university where the classes actually meet and the student completes the work”.

    Good man. But DY don’t play. Sendekian results are not acceptable.

  15. ADVENTUROO 11/25/2012 at 1:48 PM #

    I kiddingly told our group after the first quarter that Debbie had Texted O’Brien and wanted to have lunch with him today. After the team woke up, I said that she probably told him that she had made other plans and that should would have to cancel…

    Apparently NOT!

    As with the bulk of the posters…..it really is the best solution. He did run a clean and good program, however, his record has been only marginally better than O’Cain and Amato.

    Wish him success….but do not think he will be doing ESPN or looking for a job…..so we will be writing him checks.

    We will not get Cowher as I do not think he wants to go back to the grind. Making too much $$’s unless he misses the game and the challenges.

    Now, let the rumors begin.

  16. gumby 11/25/2012 at 1:56 PM #

    Shoulda beaten those holes

  17. Texpack 11/25/2012 at 1:56 PM #

    No reason to wait any longer to pull the trigger. Well done DY.

  18. Wufpacker 11/25/2012 at 2:02 PM #

    Coulda been worse…..Anybody remember that MAF canned MOC on Thanksgiving day?

  19. Lunatic Fringe 11/25/2012 at 2:04 PM #

    The Hoos loss was more detrimental to TOBs return than Heels.

    Agree with Tex – no need to have this hang over bowl game. We need to start talking to coaches now with the number of solid jobs out there this year.

  20. PackerInRussia 11/25/2012 at 2:04 PM #

    ESPN “headline” on their main page is “NC State fires coach O’Brien after 7-5 season.” Let the criticisms for irrationality begin. (although the article itself is fair)

  21. Wulfpack 11/25/2012 at 2:04 PM #

    One thing that DY is not is indecisive.

    Thanks to TOB for the good times. But all good times come to an end. I wish him nothing but the best in retirement.

    As for the Pack, let the games begin!

  22. sholtzma 11/25/2012 at 2:04 PM #

    And, as some of us easily predicted weeks ago, he’s gone. Why this was so hard to grasp for some folks, I don’t know.

    Now we move forward. We trust A.D. Yow has one or more names to act on in the next months. We trust that the BOT is behind this, as well as the big money donors. And we trust that whoever we get will be able to take us to the next step.

    The next step is not a top-10 team. The next step is a consistently good team, a team that plays fundamentally sound ball, a team that cares to show up every game, a team that is well coached. What that translates into with regard to wins and losses is another matter. Some of us believe that State should be able to win 8-9 regular season games most seasons. A bowl win then gets us to 9-10 wins. That will take better recruiting than what we’ve had, better coaching than what we’ve had, better leadership than what we’ve had. It will not take cheating. It will not take pseudo-students. It will not take relaxed academic standards.

    Here’s looking forward to an exciting time next year on the football field.

  23. Lunatic Fringe 11/25/2012 at 2:06 PM #

    PackerInRussia – The article with that title is pretty fair and basically outlines why he should have been let go.

  24. Semper_WolfPack 11/25/2012 at 2:09 PM #

    TLeo, “Wow—-wasn’t expecting it this quick, more like after the bowl game. I have to admit to mixed feelings because I like the guy and the way he ran the program but he just wasn’t getting the results on the field. I will always believe that part(maybe even a great deal) of that fault has been Bible and Archer but he has’t been willing to make those changes so I guess it had to come to this. I wish him the best, now let’s support DY in the effort to get a good replacement.”

    Couldn’t have said it better myself. Semper Fi, TOB!

  25. PackFan 11/25/2012 at 2:10 PM #

    I truly am grateful for all TOB has done for our program and wish him the best. I also trust DY to land the right coach to help us take another step forward!

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