NC State promotes Des Kitchings and George McDonald to co-offensive coordinators
N.C. State coach Dave Doeren will replace Eli Drinkwitz with two offensive coordinators.
Assistants Des Kitchings and George McDonald were promoted to co-coordinators on Friday, a day after Drinkwitz became Appalachian State’s head coach.
“I’m excited that Des and George will have the opportunity to oversee and develop our offense,” Doeren said in a statement released by the school. “They have a great working relationship and respect for each other and their familiarity with our offense will provide us with great continuity for our players and recruits.”
Kitchings has been at N.C. State since the 2012 season, working one year for Tom O’Brien and the past six with Doeren as the running backs coach. He is also the recruiting coordinator and one of the primary reasons for the program’s recent recruiting success.
Under Kitchings’ guidance, N.C. State has had a 1,000-yard rusher in each of the past three seasons and by three different running backs.
“I would like to thank to coach Doeren and the administration for this opportunity,” Kitchings said in a statement released by the school. “I’m excited to work hand in hand with coach McDonald and the rest of our staff to continue the progression of N.C. State football.”
McDonald was one of Doeren’s most important hires before the 2015 season. N.C. State’s receiving corps was prone to dropped passes and struggled to make one-on-one plays down the field. In four years under McDonald, the receivers have gone from a weakness to one of the best units in the ACC.
Junior Kelvin Harmon developed into one of the best receivers in school history with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Both Harmon and Jakobi Meyers made the All-ACC team this season, which hadn’t been done previously in conference history.
“I’m extremely grateful to Coach Doeren for this opportunity,” McDonald said in a statement released by the school. “My family and I love N.C. State and I’m proud of what we’re building with Wolfpack football. Our staff has a great relationship and I know that will continue as coach Kitchings and I take on this role.”
This will be the first time N.C. State has co-coordinators on offense. Dave Huxtable and Ted Roof were co-coordinators on defense this season. Under Drinkwitz, N.C. State’s offense ranked in the top 25 in scoring and yards per game this season.
Kitchings and McDonald will take over an offense that needs a new quarterback and three new starters on the offensive line. Even with the promotions, Doeren will need to hire a quarterbacks coach and an offensive line coach. Assistant Dwayne Ledford is expected to join Scott Satterfield’s staff at Louisville. Satterfield is expected to have co-coordinators. Clemson, which has won the league four years in a row, also has co-coordinators on offense.
This story was originally published December 14, 2018 at 7:59 PM.