NC State coach Dave Doeren names Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay interim defensive coordinator, won’t rush full-time hire
NC State coach Dave Doeren likes to look at openings as an opportunity. That’s true for his roster when players graduate or transfer out, allowing the next player to step up. And it rings the same when an assistant coach departs for another program.
The Wolfpack is experiencing the latter after longtime defensive coordinator Tony Gibson was named Marshall’s head coach Sunday afternoon.
“I’m super excited for Tony,” Doeren said Sunday night. “He’s earned it, deserves it. He’s been a great staff member and friend. Throughout his time in college football, he’s made his mark. This has always been one of his goals. For me, it’s a proud moment.”
Gibson is the second assistant in three seasons to depart his post for a head coaching job, joining offensive coordinator Tim Beck, who is leading Coastal Carolina.
While Gibson left the program to run his own with the transfer portal opening on Monday, NC State has retained the rest of its defensive staff for its Military Bowl bout with East Carolina on Dec. 28.
And with another game left on the schedule, Doeren named nickels coach Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay the Pack’s interim defensive coordinator. He will run the defense and call plays against the Pirates in what could be an audition for the full-time job.
“He’s had opportunities to leave here for mid-major [defensive] coordinator jobs,” Doeren said of Aughtry-Lindsay. “He wanted to learn, he wanted to stay and he wanted to grow. This is a great opportunity for him to show what he can do and lead our guys.”
Even though Aughtry-Lindsay, who served as defensive coordinator at St. Augustine’s in 2014 and at NC Central in 2019, will lead the unit for the bowl game, Doeren isn’t rushing into a decision on his full-time hire.
The 12th-year coach admitted his phone has been “buzzing” since the news broke, leading to a likely vast candidate pool to choose from for Gibson’s replacement. Doeren added that he views this next hire as a chance to “improve” as a team.
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“A lot of people want the job,” said Doeren, who touted the young defensive talent on the Pack’s roster. “I owe it to these players to give it to the best coach I can get, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Doeren said he will not try to “win the press conference” with the next defensive coordinator, instead he wants to make the right choice. It didn’t seem like Doeren was prioritizing a specific scheme for the next hire, rather he appeared to be willing to change from the 3-3-5 system Gibson deployed in Raleigh if the right fit presented itself.
“I know what these guys need, and I know what we have,” Doeren said. “We don’t need to all of a sudden go to a completely different thing, but we do need to evolve. This is a great opportunity to do that.”
Opportunity. It was the word that Doeren tied to his latest opening in his program. It’s a key hire for the Wolfpack, which has boasted the same defensive staff for the past five seasons. Now, that group will have a new leader, and Doeren is prepared to take his time to make the right decision.
“It’s more about what I need for the program,” Doeren said. “As soon as I’m ready, we’ll have a guy in there. I owe it to NC State and every player in that locker room to look at everything and make the best choice.”
But for now, Aughtry-Lindsay will be the one in charge of the defense as NC State prepares to play ECU for the first time since the 2022 season on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy at the end of the month.
