RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State has reached a deal with former Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers to become its next head football coach in Raleigh, N.C., pending a vote by the university’s board of trustees.
Under school rules, the trustees must sign off on the agreement before it becomes official. The board already had meetings on its calendar and is expected to take up the hire on Friday. The university has not publicly discussed the details of its search.
Rivers would take over for Dave Doeren, who was fired Oct. 24 in the middle of his 14th season. Doeren leaves as the winningest coach in program history, but his teams never made the jump to the next level that boosters wanted.
The hire would be a homecoming. Rivers played all four of his college seasons in Raleigh, earning ACC Player of the Year honors, and his No. 17 jersey hangs retired at the school. He went on to a long NFL career with the Chargers and Colts and ranks eighth all-time in career passing yards with 63,984. He even stepped away from his high school sideline in 2025 to suit up again for the Colts at age 44.
He has never coached in college or the pros. For six seasons he has run the program at St. Michael Catholic High School, a school in Fairhope, Ala., and there he coached his son, Gunner, a four-star quarterback recruit who pledged to the Wolfpack back in February and doubled down on that choice in late October.
Rivers sat down for a formal interview with athletic director Boo Corrigan on Nov. 4.
Supporters expect the move to give the Wolfpack a lift in name, image and likeness fundraising.
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