NC State names ACC’s all-time passing leader Philip Rivers head coach on five-year deal
· Yahoo Sports
The NC State Wolfpack made Philip Rivers their head coach Friday after the university’s Board of Trustees approved a five-year contract in a morning meeting. The vote closed a search that had centered on the program’s most famous quarterback within days of Dave Doeren’s firing in October. Doeren, the program’s career wins leader with 98 victories, was let go midway through his 14th season.
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Rivers, 44, played 51 games for NC State from 2000 to 2003 and is still the ACC’s all-time leading passer. He has spent the last six seasons as head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama, and he will be formally introduced Monday at a private event broadcast on ACC Network.
Health insurance reset drives Philip Rivers comeback (Fox Sports)
“I am humbled and honored to be the next head football coach at NC State University. In many ways, I feel like I’m coming home. This is where it all began for me as an 18-year-old kid from Alabama, and now to return to this great place as head coach is beyond words. … I gave it everything I had here as a player for 51 games and I will give it everything I have as the coach. … There’s no denying that this is going to take hard work, but we’re not scared of hard,” Rivers said in a statement released by the school.
Rivers is also the first football hire for Boo Corrigan as NC State’s athletic director.
“Philip Rivers is one of one and the right person to lead NC State Football into its next era. His accomplishments as a player at the collegiate and professional levels speak for themselves. … Philip is a winner who embraces the high expectations we have for NC State Football,” Corrigan said.
What Philip Rivers walks into at NC State
The school did not release financial terms, but WRAL reported, citing a source, that Rivers will make $3.25 million a year.
The team he takes over is 4-5 and coming off a 41-3 home loss to the Duke Blue Devils on Nov. 7. Interim coach Todd Goebbel will finish the season, starting with the Syracuse Orange in Raleigh on Saturday.
Dec 14, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen, left, talks with quarterback Philip Rivers (17) during a second quarter timeout against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images
Rivers has never coached in college, and his route to Raleigh ran through a high school sideline in Alabama, an interview for the Buffalo Bills’ head coaching job in January and a three-game return as a player with the Indianapolis Colts at the end of the 2025 season.
His son, Gunner Rivers, a quarterback he has coached for three seasons at St. Michael, is already committed to NC State as the top recruit in its 2027 class.
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