NC State fires Mark Gottfried who will coach rest of season
By mdelaney
After six seasons, NC State will let go of head coach Mark Gottfried when the team’s season concludes.
NC State athletic director Debbie Yow released a statement today announcing that men’s basketball head coach Mark Gottfried will be relieved of his duties following the end of the season.
“Mark and I met today to discuss the future direction of our program,” Yow said in a release. “While it has long been my practice to evaluate the body of work at season’s end, in reviewing the overall direction of our program, we believe a change in leadership is necessary moving forward. Our focus now remains on supporting our student-athletes and staff over the final weeks of our season.”
Gottfried is 122-82 overall during his tenure for the Wolfpack but is an underwhelming 47-55 in ACC play. His inability to beat conference rivals was on display during the team’s current five-game skid as the last three losses were blowouts to Florida State, Wake Forest and most recently North Carolina. Over the past two season’s Gottfried has gone 8-24 in the ACC.
The firing leaves $2.28 million and three year’s left on his current deal. Gottfried requested to Yow that he finish out the season to respect his commitment to the players.
“It has been a privilege to serve as head coach of NC State, and I’m proud of what we have accomplished during my time here. NC State is a special place and I appreciate the opportunity to finish the remainder of the season.”
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Brought on in 2011, Gottfried helped NC State to four NCAA tournament appearances in his first four years as well as two berths into the Sweet 16 in 2012 and 2015. However, most of Gottfried’s success was fleeting.
He built his teams with win-now emphasis by recruiting one-and-done pro prospects and filled the remaining holes with short-term transfer players. Gottfried never rooted the program into any sort of stability, costing him his job in the long run.