NC State is looking back to look ahead, identifying program legend Philip Rivers as its top candidate to be the school's next head football coach, sources told ESPN on Sunday.
Rivers, who played quarterback at NC State from 2000 to 2003, is in his sixth season as coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama. Rivers, who has never coached in college, led the Cardinals to the state playoff semifinals the previous two seasons.
The 44-year-old had told NC State that he wants to finish the current high school season, sources said. St. Michael's season ended on Friday night.
Rivers emerged as the favorite to replace Dave Doeren, who was fired Oct. 24, in the early stages of the search. Another former Wolfpack quarterback, Russell Wilson, also was in discussions about the position.
Rivers broke nearly every NC State and ACC record during his career, throwing for 13,484 yards with 95 touchdowns. He led the Wolfpack to four straight bowl games under coach Chuck Amato, winning three of them. Amato passed away last month at the age of 80.
Philip Rivers is the second member of his family to commit to the program this year. His son, Gunner, committed to play for NC State on Feb. 23. He suffered a knee injury and was shut down for the rest of St. Michael's season. Gunner Rivers, who is ranked 168th in the SC Next 300, threw for 10,847 yards with 119 touchdowns in his high school career.
Philip Rivers played 17 seasons in the NFL, all but one with the LA Chargers, before retiring following the 2020 season. Last year, he came out of retirement to start three games for the Indianapolis Colts after starter Daniel Jones and backup Riley Leonard were hurt.
In January, Rivers interviewed for the Buffalo Bills' head coaching vacancy, but he later removed himself from the search.
Information from ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Pete Thamel was used in this report.