NC State reaches deal to make Philip Rivers its next football coach, pending trustee vote

North Carolina State University has reached an agreement to make Philip Rivers, the former NC State and NFL quarterback, its next head football coach, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday. The agreement still requires formal approval from the university's board of trustees, which is scheduled to take up the matter Friday at a previously set meeting in Raleigh.

NC State has not publicly confirmed the hire. The contract is expected to come before the full board during Friday's session, following closed-door personnel discussion, according to the board's November meeting materials. Trustees met Thursday as well, when Chancellor Kevin Howell declined to discuss specifics of the search but told reporters, "I look forward to having some more conversations as the board meetings proceed."

A fired coach and a familiar name

The opening dates to Oct. 24, when NC State dismissed Dave Doeren a day after a 31-28 loss at Stanford dropped the Wolfpack to 3-4 on the season. Doeren leaves NC State as the winningest coach in program history, a mark he set on Nov. 4, 2023, when a 20-6 win over Miami gave him his 78th victory at the school, passing Earle Edwards, who had won 77 games over 17 seasons from 1954 to 1970. Doeren finished 98-74 over nearly 14 seasons, took the Wolfpack to 11 bowl games and went 9-4 against rival North Carolina, but he never won an ACC title, never reached 10 wins in a season, and the program has not claimed a conference championship since 1979. Running backs coach and special teams coordinator Todd Goebbel was elevated to interim head coach and has guided the team through the rest of this season while the search continued, a search NC State's athletic department opened immediately after the firing.

The vacancy landed in the middle of an unusually active year for coaching changes around the ACC, which has added Stanford and California as football members in recent seasons. Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry last September after a 16-24 record over four seasons and later hired James Franklin away from Penn State, while Stanford moved on from Troy Taylor, used Frank Reich as interim coach, and promoted Tavita Pritchard. NC State's opening added a third marquee ACC search to that list, and one with an unusually personal angle given Rivers' ties to the program.

Athletic director Boo Corrigan has led the search with help from Bill Cowher, the Hall of Fame NFL coach and former NC State linebacker who has remained close to the program. Cowher confirmed on "The Dan Patrick Show" that he had been consulting with Corrigan. "Correct," Cowher said when asked directly whether he was serving as a consultant on the search. "I've been talking to Boo Corrigan." Corrigan's search touched at least two former Wolfpack quarterbacks. Russell Wilson, the Super Bowl-winning passer who started at NC State before transferring to Wisconsin and who retired from the NFL this year to join CBS Sports as an analyst, interviewed for the job in early November but was not offered the position. Rivers, who has no college or professional coaching experience, met with NC State officials, including Corrigan, in Fairhope, Alabama, on Nov. 4, and momentum built toward a deal over the following week.

From high school sideline to Division I program

Rivers, 44, started four years at NC State from 2000 to 2003, finishing seventh in Heisman Trophy voting as a senior and leaving as the program's career leader in passing yards and touchdowns; his No. 17 was retired by the school in 2013. He went on to a 17-year NFL career with the San Diego and Los Angeles Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts, finishing with roughly 63,440 passing yards and 421 touchdown passes and earning eight Pro Bowl selections, though he never reached a Super Bowl. He briefly returned to play three games for the Colts in December 2025 before retiring again. Since first stepping away from the NFL, he has spent six seasons as head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, a job that was arranged for him before his playing career ended. St. Michael's 2026 season concluded on Nov. 6 with a 42-35 home loss in the opening round of the Alabama playoffs, clearing the way for Rivers to turn his attention to Raleigh.

He has never coached at the college or professional level, a gap that has shaped the terms of the deal under discussion. Reports on the negotiations describe Rivers seeking a staff budget large enough to attract experienced coordinators and assistants with Division I résumés, and athletic department officials working to line up name, image and likeness fundraising support from boosters beyond the school's formal revenue-sharing pool. NC State's existing NIL infrastructure centers on One Pack NIL, a collective formed from the merger of the Pack of Wolves and Savage Wolves groups, which raised more than $867,000 at its most recent annual football fundraising event and has said it is working toward several million dollars in recurring annual support. Boosters are expected to lean on that structure to help fund roster additions through the transfer portal ahead of the 2027 season.

What it means for the program

The hire would be unusual even by the standards of a coaching market that has grown more willing to consider candidates without traditional head-coaching paths. It also carries a family dimension: Rivers' son, Gunner, a four-star quarterback recruit, is already committed to NC State's 2027 recruiting class and is expected to enroll in January, meaning father and son could soon share a sideline.

In the letter informing supporters of Doeren's dismissal last month, Howell and Corrigan wrote that the change was about restoring momentum to the program.

"We believe this is the right time for a new chapter, with fresh leadership and renewed energy."

Analysts who have tracked the search say the hire's success will hinge less on Rivers himself than on who he brings with him. Tim Donnelly, a Raleigh radio host who has covered the search closely, predicted substantial staff turnover once an announcement is made, noting that assistants serving under an interim coach have little incentive to wait around. The current defensive playcalling and support staff were reshuffled after Doeren's firing, with assistant Charlton Warren taking over defensive duties for the remainder of the season.

What's next

The immediate question is procedural: whether the full board approves the contract Friday as scheduled, after which NC State would be expected to make a formal announcement and introduce Rivers publicly. Terms of the contract, including salary and length, had not been disclosed as of Thursday night. If approved, Rivers would inherit a program at 3-4 under Goebbel with several games remaining this season, and he would need to assemble a full coaching staff and begin recruiting for 2027 on a compressed timeline. The hire would also close out a search that spanned roughly three weeks and included at least one high-profile interview that went nowhere, underscoring how unsettled the coaching market remains at programs weighing experience against name recognition.