1981 began nicely with the addition of a white face to the scarlet helmet. The Pack’s 4-1 start had fans a bit delirious until the team blew a 10-0 halftime lead over rival North Carolina and then couldn’t win the remainder of the season. The 4-7 collapse was in part due to a passing game that generated six TD tosses for the entire season. HB Joe McIntosh, the ACC Rookie Of The Year hammered for 1190 ground yards but was for the most part, the entire offense despite the presence of WR Mike Quick who went on to a ten-year career with the Eagles. DB Eric Williams led the conference in interceptions and meshed well with LB Vaughan Johnson. 1982 was another year of inconsistency and proved frustrating as the Pack was blown out by major rival North Carolina, and their better opponents, Penn State and Miami. With HB McIntosh fighting injuries and falling off to 780 yards rushing, the offense was undependable and the year ended at 6-5. Kicker Mike Cofer was perhaps the most feared weapon the Pack had and their leading scorer. LB Johnson tallied 167 tackles and with Andy Hendel and Frank Bush, the linebackers were the core of the defense. Eric Williams again was solid in the secondary, going on to a five-year pro career with the Steelers and Lions. At the end of the season, a change was called for and Kiffin was replaced by Tom Reed who had led Miami in Ohio for the past five seasons. Kiffin of course, gained a great deal of fame in subsequent years, as a defensive coach and then a defensive coordinator, traveling through Green Bay, Buffalo, two stints with the Vikings, some time with the Jets, the Saints, and in 1996, landing at Tampa Bay. Teaming with his head coach Tony Dungy, he developed the Tampa Two Defense which has been widely emulated and copied throughout the game and he is recognized as a true defensive genius. His son Lane was named as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders for 2007, then moved on to the University Of Tennessee, naming his father as D-Coordinator. In 2010, Lane as head coach of USC, again brought his father Monte with him as the Trojans’ defensive coordinator.  

Reed’s three seasons at State were not good ones as he won but three games each year. Vaughan Johnson went on to a very good career as a Saints linebacker, on a group of LB’s that included Sam Mills and Rickey Jackson.  Mike Cofer matured into a reliable kicker who played with three pro teams, primarily the Forty-Niners. In 1986, Dick Sheridan was brought in as head coach and he brought the NC State back into bowl consideration. The Wolfpack remains competitive in the ACC, having completed a seven-year term under former Pack linebacker Chuck Amato and having then hired Tom O’Brien to head the program entering 2007.