Dave Sez

Herring Leaves State

In a move that was somewhat overshadowed by bigger sports news (steroids, Notre Dame, the BCS mess, etc), NC State defensive coordinator Reggie Herring packed up and left Raleigh to take the same position at Arkansas. This could be a pretty serious blow to State. Herring was there only one year and quickly changed State from being one of the worst defenses in the league in 2003 to being the number one overall defense in 2004.

When good teams lose their coordinators, it can be a serious blow to the program. The ACC has had numerous examples in recent years of teams taking a dip after a top guy leaves - Ralph Friedgen leaving Georgia Tech, Rich Rodriguez leaving Clemson, Chuck Amato and Mark Richt leaving Florida State, etc.

Head coaches are basically CEOs. They leave most of the day-to-day coaching and play calling to their top assistants. A good coach is often the product of good assistants.

So, this hurts State. Their defense is what salvaged what was otherwise a pretty disappointing season. Without that stout D, they probably would have lost another game or two. The Wolfpack still has a lot of talent, so a new coordinator will have plenty to work with, but he'll have a tough time matching what Herring did in his one season.