NC State is expected to take the next formal step toward making Philip Rivers its football coach on Friday, with the Board of Trustees likely to approve his contract, according to sources who spoke to WRAL.
The trustees are scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday in Raleigh, and the full board is set to gather Friday morning. A closed session is listed at the end of the agenda, which is where personnel contracts are often handled before any final vote in open session.
Rivers, one of the most recognizable names in Wolfpack football history, met with NC State officials, including athletics director Boo Corrigan, in Alabama on Nov. 4 about the opening. The job came open after NC State fired longtime coach Dave Doeren on Oct. 24, ending his run in the middle of his 14th season in Raleigh.
The former NC State quarterback from 2000 to 2003 has moved quickly to the front of the line despite never coaching in college or the pros. Since 2021, Rivers has been the head coach at St. Michael Catholic in Alabama.
That team’s playoff run ended Friday with a 42-35 home loss, and Rivers was asked afterward about the possibility of leaving for NC State.
“I don’t know that,” he said. “It’s been a heck of a six years.
I know that and just trying to be where my feet are right now. Really was looking forward to this playoff run, and again, so it all comes to an end [Friday night].
We’ll see what the future holds.”
When WRAL asked whether there might be another step in talks with NC State, Rivers replied: “There could be. I think that the potential next step would involve all of those things you referenced.”
He was referring to his family. Rivers has 10 children and at least one grandchild.
His brother and sister live near Fairhope, Alabama, and his son, Pete, is a freshman quarterback at St. Michael.
Doeren’s dismissal came one day after a 31-28 loss at Stanford dropped NC State to 3-4. He finished 98-74 in 13-plus seasons with the Wolfpack. During his tenure, NC State reached 11 bowl games and went 9-4 against North Carolina, but it never won 10 games in a season or reached the ACC Championship Game, which began in 2005.
The Wolfpack have not won an ACC football title since 1979.
In the letter announcing the change, Chancellor Kevin Howell and Corrigan said, “We believe this is the right time for a new chapter, with fresh leadership and renewed energy to elevate Wolfpack Football to the next level,”
They added: “We believe that NC State will compete at an elite level, challenge for ACC Championships, and be positioned for the College Football Playoff year in and year out. Together, we are fully committed to providing the financial investment, infrastructure, and NIL support required to compete and win in this new landscape.”
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