NC State Moves to Hire Philip Rivers as Football Coach

RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State is closing in on a homecoming for one of its most famous players, with the university working to finalize a contract that would make former Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers its next head football coach.

Nothing is official yet. Any contract must first be approved by the NC State Board of Trustees before the school can make a public announcement, and the board already had meetings on its calendar for Thursday and Friday.

The opening came when the school fired Dave Doeren on Oct. 24, one day after the Wolfpack fell 31-28 at Stanford to drop to 3-4. Doeren leaves as the winningest coach in school history at 98-74 over 14 seasons. Running backs coach Todd Goebbel is leading the team on an interim basis for the rest of this season.

Rivers, 44, would arrive without any college or NFL coaching experience. He has spent the last six seasons building the program at St. Michael Catholic in Fairhope, Alabama, where his teams posted records of 12-2 and 13-1 the past two years before this one and reached the state semifinals each time. This fall the Cardinals finished 6-5, and they were knocked out in the opening round of the playoffs Friday.

University officials, including athletic director Boo Corrigan, met with Rivers in Alabama earlier in the week. He also interviewed for the Buffalo Bills head coaching job in January but did not get an offer.

His ties to Raleigh run deep. Rivers played for the Wolfpack from 2000 through 2003, threw for 13,484 yards and 95 touchdowns, led the 2002 team to 11 wins and was named ACC Player of the Year as a senior. The school has retired his No. 17. The No. 4 pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, he played 18 NFL seasons, earning eight Pro Bowl selections.

If the deal is completed, Rivers would be the 37th head coach in program history and the fourth former NC State player to lead his alma mater. He would also be the first coach hired directly from high school since John Van Liew in 1930. Gunner Rivers, his son and a four-star Class of 2027 quarterback, has already committed to the Wolfpack.

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