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Longtime NFL QB and former NC State QB Philip Rivers named the Wolfpack's new head coach
Yahoo Sports • • general
Key Points:
- NC State has officially hired former Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers as its new head football coach, replacing Dave Doeren after a 3-4 start to the 2026 season and a notable loss to Vanderbilt.
- Rivers, 44, has no collegiate coaching experience and is currently coaching at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama, where his son Gunner Rivers, a four-star NC State commit, is the quarterback.
- NC State, currently 4-5, needs to win two of its final three games under interim coach Todd Goebbel to qualify for a bowl game; Doeren was fired after 13 seasons and eight winning campaigns.
- Rivers was a standout player at NC State from 2000-2003, earning ACC Player of the Year honors in 2003 and finishing seventh in Heisman voting; he played 16 NFL seasons primarily with the Chargers.
- Rivers has signed a five-year deal reportedly worth $3.25 million per season and expressed enthusiasm about returning to his alma mater to lead the football program into a new era.
