Philip Rivers has moved to the front of NC State’s coaching search, and that alone makes this a conversation worth having.
On3.com’s Pete Nakos reported Saturday that Rivers has become the focus of the Wolfpack’s search, coming just a week after the school parted ways with Dave Doeren. There’s no timetable yet, and Rivers would first finish his run at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Ala., before any decision is made.
That’s the tension here: the obvious risk of hiring a high school coach, and the undeniable pull of a former Wolfpack star who still means something in Raleigh.
Rivers would be an instant favorite with the fan base. He threw for 13,484 yards, 95 touchdowns and 34 interceptions at NC State from 2000-03, and he led the Wolfpack to an 11-3 record in 2002. That remains the last time the program reached double-digit wins in a season.
He also brings the NFL résumé. Rivers played 18 seasons in the league, including a three-game return with the Indianapolis Colts last season. And the connection goes beyond nostalgia: his son Gunnar is a four-star NC State recruit in the class of 2027.
If the Wolfpack are looking for someone who can energize boosters, fire up the fan base and sell hope, Rivers checks every one of those boxes. NC State is 16-18 since the ACC’s latest round of realignment, and the steadier stretch Doeren put together from 2017-23 has faded. During that run, the Wolfpack won eight or more games in six seasons.
The leap from high school to the ACC, though, is no small thing. Rivers would be taking one of the rarest paths in coaching: jumping from a high school job straight to the FBS without previous experience at that level.
History says that’s a dangerous bet. Gerry Faust made the most famous jump, going from a powerhouse run at Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati from 1962-80 to Notre Dame, where he finished 30-26-1 in five seasons.
More recently, Tony Sanchez went from Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas to UNLV and finished 29-61 between stops at UNLV and New Mexico State. UAB also hired Trent Dilfer, another former NFL quarterback, and he went 9-21 with the Blazers.
Rivers’ own high school record is strong: 49-20 at St. Michael Catholic, including 12-2 in 2024 and 13-1 in 2025. But even with that success, the jump to the ACC would still be massive.
There is, however, a case for rolling the dice. Rivers is an NC State legend, and alma mater hires can hit.
Pat Fitzgerald is the example that comes to mind, taking over at Northwestern after Randy Walker died in 2006. That ride had its ups and downs, but Northwestern managed five winning seasons over the next 10 years, including two 10-win years.
Fitzgerald also had eight seasons as an assistant coach before getting the job, and that’s the big question with Rivers. Can a longtime NFL quarterback and high school coach turn that background into FBS success? Deion Sanders did it early at Colorado, though that program has since bottomed out.
Rivers could help immediately with recruiting, especially early on, and his work in Alabama high school football suggests he’d bring some credibility to quarterback development. But the staff around him would matter just as much, if not more.
Even with the risk, the fact that Rivers is in the mix says something about where NC State is willing to go. The Wolfpack may be chasing a different kind of ceiling here, one that at least offers a path to respectability in a conference that will likely have one College Football Playoff bid for the second straight year.
And then there’s the part nobody can ignore: the possibility of Rivers on one sideline and Bill Belichick on the other in the ACC.
This would not be a safer hire than Memphis coach Charles Huff or Appalachian State coach Dowell Loggains. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. But it would be impossible not to watch.
In Other News...
NC State Just Gave Fans A New Reason To Debate This Team
The first game after a coaching change can tell you plenty about a team, and NC State offered a pretty clear snapshot in Raleigh. With Todd Goebbel taking over on an interim basis, the Wolfpack handled Cal 31-10 behind two touchdown passes from CJ Bailey and a defense that kept the Bears in check for most of the afternoon.
The game was tied 10-10 at halftime before NC State seized control with 21 unanswered points after the break, turning a tense spot into a comfortable finish. Cal managed just 269 total yards and dropped its third straight, while the Wolfpack left fans with a fresh argument about what this team might look like now that the reset has begun. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Finally Gave Wolfpack Fans A Response They Needed
After a sluggish opening half, NC State finally gave its fans the kind of response they had been waiting to see, flipping the game against Cal with a much sharper second-half effort on both sides of the ball. CJ Bailey settled in after the break, the offense found a rhythm, and the Wolfpack defense did its part by keeping Cal from building on its early edge.
The turnaround came at a good time for a team trying to steady itself after a rough stretch, and it was the sort of win that can change the mood around a program in a hurry. The Wolfpack did not look like a team searching for answers once the second half began, which is why this result felt bigger than a single victory and more like a needed reset. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Enters Cal Week With One Huge Question Hanging Over It
NC State heads into Cal week still sorting through the fallout from a midseason coaching change, with Todd Goebbel stepping in as the interim leader while the Wolfpack try to steady a season already marked by injuries and defensive problems. The timing makes the next stretch especially tricky, because the focus has to stay on the field even as the program works through a transition at the top.
One of the louder side conversations around the job has centered on Philip Rivers, but he pushed back on the idea that anything is brewing, saying there is nothing there at this point and nothing imminent. For a team already trying to regroup before facing Cal, the uncertainty is part of the backdrop now, even as the Wolfpack and Golden Bears both arrive with their own injury concerns and offensive line issues to manage. [Read more 🡒]