Former NC State standout quarterback Philip Rivers has risen to the top of the Wolfpack's coaching search, according to industry sources, following Saturday's firing of veteran Dave Doeren in his 14th season at the program.
Rivers, whose four-star quarterback son Gunner is committed to the Wolfpack for 2027, has coached St. Michael Catholic High (Fairhope, Alabama) since the 2021 season, which included his brief NFL return to the Indianapolis Colts for a cup of tea near the end of the 2025 campaign.
Rivers sat down this week with NFL insider Daniel Jeremiah to discuss what he's learned on the sideline, oddly enough, shortly before news of NC State's coaching vacancy and his reported connection to it.
"It's blocking and tackling and catching and not turning the ball over at every level," Rivers said. "I know there are degrees to it, and I miss some of that high-level ball, but at the end of the day you watch on Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays and it's who blocks and tackles the best and who protected the football. That's usually who wins."
It would take a substantial leap of faith from NC State's power brass and top-end boosters to believe Rivers, someone without college coaching experience, could take the Wolfpack to the next level. Rivers did interview for the Buffalo Bills' vacancy earlier this year, an opportunity many believe will assist him should a college opportunity -- like NC State -- arise.
"The thing I kept telling myself was be yourself," Rivers said of his NFL coaching interview. "I showed up in a golf shirt, khakis and some boots with a notebook in my arm."
Rivers, who was not asked about NC State during this week's interview, said he's had to curtail some of his expectations at the prep level as a football-only guy.
"I think the biggest thing is the one way I've grown is understanding that not everybody is going to love the game like you do or like the guys at the level I was at do," Rivers said. "These are high school football players, high school students, who many are going onto Auburn and Alabama and Ole Miss and LSU as students and their last snap is here with us.
"For me, it's been, yeah, we want to win, but make sure you know the greater mission that you give them something more than run a slant, or pick up strong dogs or all the things we're teaching them. They better pick up more than that. Knowing for the masses it's bigger than just the Xs and Os."
Rivers said he watches as much football as he can with his sons, including Gunner, one of the top signal callers in this year's recruiting cycle.
"I came down here (to Alabama) with the Colts and Chargers' playbooks, just ready to go for it, and you find out real quick you have to scale it back a little bit," Rivers said. "At the same time, the guys loved being challenged and then showing a clip of Jonathan Taylor running outside zone and us calling it the same thing."
Where NC State stands
Moving on from Doeren was a necessary decision after the program failed to progress this fall, despite high preseason expectations and a favorable ACC slate. NC State invested considerable resources this offseason by going all-in on quarterback CJ Bailey, which led to the loss of several other starters to the transfer portal.
Credited with constructing the current roster, general manager Andy Vaughn was also fired following Friday night's loss at Stanford.
Signing a proper general manager at a school that doesn't spend as much on players as some of the others at the top of the conference will be pivotal and go hand in hand with this coaching search.
Next season's expected 24-team expanded playoff benefits the Power Four's mid-tier, like NC State, which will have a shot at reaching the bracket annually with the right leader in a league not graced with multiple juggernauts.
