North Carolina State football is "focusing" on St. Michael Catholic High School (Fairhope, AL) football head coach Philip Rivers as the successor to Dave Doeren, according to a report.
According to On3 Sports, the former NC State football quarterback has "emerged as the focus of the Wolfpack’s coaching search."
However, with Rivers expected to finish out the 2026 high school football season with the Cardinals, there is no immediate timetable for when the hiring process could finish.
St. Michael entered its 2026 regular season finale on Friday, Oct. 30, with a 6-3 record. Rivers' career record at the high school level is 48-21.
While Rivers has no college coaching experience, he was a standout star for the Wolfpack from 2000 to 2003, making an NCAA
record 51 straight starts. He had 112 total touchdowns with NC State in college.
Rivers' son, Gunner Rivers, is currently committed to the Wolfpack in the 2027 recruiting cycle. If the elder Rivers took the job, it would make it easier for NC State to retain Gunner.
Following his collegiate career, Rivers was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. He threw for over 63,000 yards with eight Pro Bowl selections for the Chargers and Colts.
Making the jump from high school level to the college level for a coach is not unprecedented. Most recently, Trent Dilfer made the jump from Lipscomb Academy (TN) to UAB. However, Dilfer flamed out with a 9-21 record and was fired on Oct. 12, 2025.
Dilfer is now back with Lipscomb Academy.
“I think Philip has a history of being an incredible football mind, an elite leader, has strong conviction, and there’s going to be stuff he’s not ready for,” Dilfer told USA TODAY Sports on Oct. 26.
NC State fired Doeren following a loss to Stanford on Saturday, Oct. 24. He was the fourth-longest-tenured coach in the FBS at the time of hiring. Doeren had a 95-70 record in his time with the Wolfpack, making him the winningest coach in program history.
However, the Wolfpack failed to ever win the ACC Championship or win nine games in any season under Doeren.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NC State coaching search turns toward familiar NFL legend
