North Carolina State has made it official: Philip Rivers is the program’s next head coach.
The school announced the hire after Rivers quickly surfaced as a leading candidate once NC State moved on from Dave Doeren, who spent 14 seasons with the Wolfpack. On3 Sports reported last Sunday that the school was finalizing a deal with Rivers, and now the move is done.
Rivers arrives with a coaching résumé that is light on experience but heavy on intrigue. He has worked with his sons’ high school program, but he has not coached at the major college or professional level.
Even so, his climb as a coaching name has happened fast. He interviewed for the Bills’ head coaching job last offseason before withdrawing from the search in January.
The connection to NC State runs deep. Rivers played for the Wolfpack from 2000 to 2003 before becoming a first-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. His son is committed to play quarterback for NC State in 2027.
Rivers, 44, was originally drafted by the Giants in 2004 and later traded to the Chargers in the deal for Eli Manning. He played the final season of his five-year, $99 million contract, a deal that included $65 million guaranteed, and then was allowed to leave in free agency after 16 seasons in San Diego.
He signed a one-year contract with the Colts for 2020 and was set to become an unrestricted free agent again in 2021. Rivers retired after that 2020 season, then coached high school football before a surprise return with the Colts at the end of the 2025 season.
In 2025, Rivers played in three games and completed 58 of 92 passes for 544 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.
Across his career, Rivers appeared in 247 games and finished with a 64.9 percent completion rate, 63,440 passing yards, 425 touchdown passes and 212 interceptions. He also ran for 601 yards and three scores over 17 years and earned eight Pro Bowl selections.
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