Former NC State QB Philip Rivers named Wolfpack's next head football coach: 'Like I'm coming home'
"This is where it all began for me as an 18-year-old kid from Alabama, and now to return to this great place as head coach is beyond words." Wolfpack fans made it very clear who they wanted the next football coach to be, and the NC State leadership agreed.
Key points
- Rivers played quarterback at NC State from 2000 to 2003, and just wrapped up his sixth season as head coach of St.
- pic.twitter.com/UeNitkMW7Q — NC State Football (@PackFootball) November 13, 2026 Rivers is the second member of his family to commit to the program this year.
- Jordan Smith, a senior, added: "He brings a lot of potential, and he'll just bring the love of the sport back to NC State, and I think a lot of people are energized about it." Matthew Lee, a junior at NC State, also highlighted the renewed energy around the campus and football program.
The North Carolina State Board of Trustees has made it official, naming Philip Rivers to lead the Wolfpack football team in the coming years.
"In many ways, I feel like I'm coming home," Philip Rivers said.
Additional details
- After weeks of speculation, the board officially announced that the former Wolfpack quarterback is the new head coach on Friday.
- "I gave it everything I had here as a player for 51 games, and I will give it everything I have as the coach," Rivers said Friday.
- "He's had a great career in the NFL, and probably a brilliant offensive mind, so I think bringing him in is definitely a change that we needed," said NC State freshman Sagar Kapadia.
- 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 is probably the biggest icon here at NC State.
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