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RALEIGH, N.C. (WBTV) - A legendary NFL player is reportedly in the mix to be the next head football coach at NC State.
Longtime NFL quarterback Philip Rivers -- who starred for the Wolfpack in the early 2000s -- is rumored to be a potential coaching candidate, according to ESPN.
The rumor mill started churning over the weekend after NC State fired Dave Doeren following Friday night’s loss to Stanford.
Doeren was in his 14th year in Raleigh, and is the winningest coach in school history. Despite that, the Wolfpack has had a disappointing 2026 season so far, including back-to-back bad losses.
Seven games in, NC State had a 3-4 record and was just 1-3 in ACC play. In those four conference games, the Wolfpack has been outscored by 50 points. Aside from the ACC struggles, the Pack blew a 21-point lead against App State and narrowly won, then lost in inexplicable fashion on the final play against Vanderbilt.
Stepping into Doeren’s place for the rest of 2026 is running backs coach/special teams coordinator Todd Goebbel.
The university said a national search began “immediately.”
It remains to be seen whether NC State is actually interested in hiring Rivers, but it would almost certainly be a popular hire.
That said, The Athletic reported the rumors of a Rivers-NC State reunion are “definitely more than smoke,” and a Wolfpack donor whose name is on the school’s scoreboard posted pictures with the longtime NFL player the day of Doeren’s firing.
“Want to grow? Get around people who push you,” the donor wrote in the post, which showed him and Rivers on an airplane. “Great conversations with NC State and NFL legend Philip Rivers on this trip.”
Rivers played for the Wolfpack from 2000-2003, and still holds the ACC record for most passing yards. He held the record for most passing yards for a decade and currently ranks third. He also led NC State to its best season in program history back in 2002.
Fast forward 20-plus years, and Rivers’ son, Gunner, committed to play for NC State and is set to arrive in 2027.
The elder Rivers coaches the younger at St. Michael Catholic School in Alabama, where the father-son duo led their team to back-to-back semifinals appearances in the state playoffs.
Rivers made headlines in 2025 when he made an NFL comeback after five years out of the league, then soon after the season was over interviewed for the Buffalo Bills’ heading coach job.
Rivers later withdrew from the Bills’ search, but the fact that he even entertained it shows he is serious about coaching.
Names of both current and past college head coaches and coordinators have also been tossed around as potential NC State hires, but none are as intriguing as Rivers.
UNC went and got Bill Belichick two years ago, so perhaps it is time for NC State to take a swing of their own.
Rivers once said the Wolfpack “ain’t for soft people.” And if you’ve been an NC State fan for any length of time -- you know it’s true. So, who better to lead the Wolfpack than the one who knows the challenge ahead but is excited about it anyway?
Philip Rivers is rumored to be in the mix for the head coaching job at NC State.
Philip Rivers is rumored to be in the mix for the head coaching job at NC State.(AP photos)
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