Bill Belichick spent years trying to solve Philip Rivers on the NFL stage, and he mostly did it. Now the two could be headed for a new kind of matchup in college football.
NC State is poised to hire Rivers, one of its most famous alumni, as its next head coach. A formal announcement could come by the end of the week, pending approval from the university’s trustees on a contract.
Belichick, now in his second season at North Carolina, went 8-1 against Rivers during their NFL careers. He beat him three times in the playoffs and five times in the regular season. Their first clash came in January 2007, and their last came in January 2019, with both meetings taking place in the postseason.
“Fantastic. Excellent competitor.
Tough,” Belichick said Monday when asked what he remembers about competing against Rivers. “One of the toughest guys we ever played against.”
The contrast between the two is striking. Belichick built his reputation over nearly five decades in the NFL and won six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots.
Rivers, by comparison, would arrive at the college level without any prior collegiate coaching experience. He has served as head coach at St.
Michael Catholic in Fairhope, Alabama since 2021.
If Rivers does take the NC State job, Belichick would already know the Wolfpack’s new coach well from the other side of the line of scrimmage. He is 0-1 against NC State in his time at UNC, and the Wolfpack have won the last five meetings between the schools.
NC State moved on from Dave Doeren on Oct. 24 in the middle of his 14th season in Raleigh. Doeren’s 98 wins are the most in program history.
Rivers’ ties to the school run deep. He played at NC State from 2000 to 2003, led the Wolfpack to a program-best 11-3 record in 2002, and was selected No. 4 overall in the 2004 draft. Over 18 NFL seasons, he threw for nearly 64,000 yards and 425 touchdowns.
“Philip was and is a great competitor,” said Duke coach Manny Diaz, who was an assistant at NC State during Rivers’ playing days. “When you’re a quarterback, you have a chance to inspire everybody else on offense.
I think that was a big part of who he was and his success in the National Football League. I’m sure that’s carried through into his abilities as a football coach as well.”
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