“Even though Tom O’Brien went 24-14 in his last three seasons at NC State, the school decided to make a change after Saturday’s win against Boston College. O’Brien was a steady coach but couldn’t elevate the program to the next level.”
– Steven Lassan, Athlon Sports
“Not a lot of people considered Tom O’Brien on the hot seat this season, especially since North Carolina State finished 7-5, 4-4 in conference play and third in the ACC Atlantic. Yet, O’Brien was the first coach shown the door Sunday following the Wolfpack’s win over Boston College to mark the end of the regular season.”
– Graham Watson, Yahoo Sports
“Coach O’Brien and I agree on the goal of becoming a Top 25 program,” Yow said. “We just don’t agree on what it takes to do that, how to get there.”
– Debbie Yow, NCSU athletic director
“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. 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.”
– Tom O’Brien, former NCSU head coach
“If the ceiling for the best and brightest under O’Brien is seven wins and a mediocre bowl game, athletic director Debbie Yow made the right call on Sunday in her decision to fire him. The fact that O’Brien — and not embattled Boston College coach Frank Spaziani — was the first ACC coach to be fired after the end of the regular season was surprising, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected considering the Wolfpack fell well below even O’Brien’s expectations this year.”
– Heather Dinich, ESPN.com
“Even if you don’t like a coach’s approach, it’s hard to cut him loose if he’s winning (unless he’s also breaking NCAA rules along the way). And State has won 25 games in the past three years and will be playing in its fourth bowl in five years. So there was a part of me that thought O’Brien had once again won a reprieve by winning his season finale. Obviously Yow felt differently.”
– Jim Young, ACCSports.com
“O’Brien has two wins against Florida State and one against Clemson since the start of the 2010 season. But for every landmark victory, the coach suffered countless other inexplicable losses.”
– Clark Leonard, Shelby Star
“If we’re going to challenge the upper-echelon teams we need to recruit at a higher level than we have the last couple of years. You look at our facilities and we should be able to attract top recruits. We may not have the greatest facilities in the country but we have top-25 facilities.”
– Wendell Murphy, Wolfpack Club
“The better a team recruits, the more likely it is that a team wins consistently. And while O’Brien’s teams regularly beat UNC, you could easily argue that the Tar Heels, thanks to stronger recruiting, have been better positioned for more consistent overall success.”
= Andrew Carter, Raleigh News & Observer
“As Wolfpack fans have a coaching search to look forward to, (USC) Trojans fans apparently have many more years with (Lane) Kiffin to come. Which group do you think is better off?”
– Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times
“If the experiment succeeds, not only does the Wolfpack improve, but those calling the shots look like geniuses. If it doesn’t, it’s North Carolina State. The college football community doesn’t expect anything from them aside from the occasional upset, and has no reason to.”
– Brandon Cavanaugh, Rant Sports
“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.”
– Andrew Coppens, Bloguin.com
“Whether N.C. State opts for a proven head coach or a hot-shot young coordinator, he will face some intense pressure from the get-go because Yow isn’t going to accept mediocrity for the school’s football program any longer. She made that message loud and clear Sunday by firing a man who was doing just about everything right.”
– Sammy Batten, Fayetteville Observer