The results are in, voting has closed and the Kansas football fan base has made its choice for the program’s next head coach.
On the final day of voting in our KU Football Coaching Search Bracket, in what may be considered a mild upset by some who have been following along, North Carolina State head coach Dave Doeren defeated former LSU and Oklahoma State head coach Les Miles by the slimmest of margins — 51% to 49%.
Perhaps Miles’ backers within the KU fan base were too busy wondering about flights from Lawrence to Baton Rouge, La., that never materialized to remember to vote in the finals. Or maybe the bulk of our readers just plain prefer Doeren, a former KU assistant (2002-05) who grew up outside of Kansas City.
Either way, KU’s athletic director, Jeff Long, would be fortunate to be able to hire Doeren away from N.C. State — though doing so in reality would include a hefty $6 million buyout.
Currently in his sixth season with the Wolfpack and eighth as a head coach, Doeren, 46, led N.C. State to just its sixth 9-win season in school history in 2017, capping the year with a Sun Bowl victory over Arizona State.
Doeren is 63-37 as a head coach with a 40-33 mark since moving to N.C. State from Northern Illinois. His final team at Northern Illinois was 12-1 and received an Orange Bowl bid before Doeren moved on to the ACC.
| Year | School | G | W | L | T | Pct | AP Pre | AP High | AP Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Northern Illinois | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | |||
| 2012 | Northern Illinois | 13 | 12 | 1 | 0 | .923 | 16 | 22 | |
| 2013 | North Carolina State | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | |||
| 2014 | North Carolina State | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | |||
| 2015 | North Carolina State | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | |||
| 2016 | North Carolina State | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | |||
| 2017 | North Carolina State | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | .692 | 14 | 23 | |
| 2018 | North Carolina State | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 16 | ||
| 8 Yrs | Overall | 100 | 63 | 37 | 0 | .630 | |||
| 2 Yrs | Northern Illinois | 27 | 23 | 4 | 0 | .852 | |||
| 6 Yrs | North Carolina State | 73 | 40 | 33 | 0 | .548 |
Eliminated in finals:
Les Miles – Former LSU and Oklahoma State head coach
Eliminated in semifinals:
Jeff Monken – Army head coach
Seth Littrell – North Texas head coach
Eliminated in Round 3:
Chris Klieman – North Dakota State head coach
Willie Fritz – Tulane head coach
Bryan Harsin – Boise State head coach
Jason Candle – Toledo head coach
Eliminated in Round 2:
Greg Schiano – Ohio State defensive coordinator
Neal Brown – Troy head coach
Jim McElwain – Former Florida and Colorado State head coach
Major Applewhite – Houston head coach
Scott Satterfield – Appalachian State head coach
Matt Wells – Utah State head coach
Troy Calhoun – Air Force head coach
Jim Leavitt – Oregon defensive coordinator
Eliminated in Round 1:
Mike Locksley – Alabama offensive coordinator
Lance Leipold – Buffalo head coach
Bret Bielema – Former Arkansas and Wisconsin head coach
Mike Norvell – Memphis head coach
Butch Jones – Former Tennessee and Cincinnati head coach
Mike MacIntyre – Colorado head coach
Todd Graham – Former Arizona State and Pitt head coach
Ed Warinner – Ohio State O-line coach
Tim Beck – Texas offensive coordinator
Ken Niumatalolo – Navy head coach
Jeff Tedford – Fresno State head coach
Chris Creighton – Eastern Michigan head coach
Frank Wilson – UT-San Antonio head coach
Brian Bohannon – Kennesaw State head coach
Craig Bohl – Wyoming head coach
— Review how the bracket played out: 2018 KU Football Coaching Search Bracket
