This is the silly season of college football, but things got really silly on Sunday with the news that Tom O'Brien is out as the head coach at North Carolina State. Count him amongst a group of guys like Jeff Tedford, Derek Dooley, John L. Smith, and Joker Phillips if you want, but this one is a bit more of the surprise variety.
O'Brien, or The Notorious T.O.B as we like to call him here at CBR, led the Wolfpack to a 7-5 record (4-4 ACC) and bowl eligibility this season. However that wasn't enough for AD Yow to keep him on board.
"Coach O’Brien’s service to NC State over the last six years has been sincerely appreciated by Wolfpack Nation,” stated AD Debbie Yow in a press release earlier on Sunday. “We especially appreciate his attention toward NCAA rules compliance, a value that will continue to be held by NC State. We wish him well in future pursuits.”
The Notorious T.O.B. was 40-35 overall and just 22-26 in ACC play over his six year tenure at the helm of the NC State program.
Offensive Coordinator Dana Bible will serve as interim head coach for the bowl game before a new coach will take over.
Whomever it is taking this job they'll have a team that's in great shape off the field as they are one of the more academically elite teams in the ACC, something that was becoming a major issue before O'Brien arrived in Raleigh six years ago.
The name that has been thrown out there as a possible candidate is Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin who was around when Yow was the AD at Maryland and we all know how getting in "your guy" plays a part in these decisions these days.
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