As NC State looks to hire Philip Rivers as its head coach, the former Wolfpack star will make the rare move from high School to college.
Rivers has never coached at the college level, with his entire coaching experience coming as a high school coach. He will be the only head coach in the Power 4 to not have any college or professional coaching experience before taking over as a head coach.
The reason why NC State is hiring Rivers is largely due to his connection to the program, but the quarterback certainly feels like he is ready to take over as a head coach. Rivers interviewed with the Buffalo Bills for their head coach opening in the offseason, and he has had a decent amount of success as a high school head coach.
While coaching St. Michael’s Catholic High School football team in Alabama, Rivers led the team to winning seasons and appearances in the state tournament. The Wolfpack hope Rivers won’t have much of a transition when he takes over next season.
Here’s more on Rivers’ high school coaching career.
MORE: Why NC State is hiring Philip Rivers
Inside Philip Rivers’ high school record
| Year | Overall record | Region record | State rank |
| 2021-22 | 7-2 | 4-2 | 123 |
| 2022-23 | 5-5 | 4-3 | 135 |
| 2023-24 | 6-5 | 5-2 | 126 |
| 2024-25 | 12-2 | 5-1 | 43 |
| 2025-26 | 13-1 | 6-0 | 27 |
| 2026-27 | 6-5 | 5-2 | 71 |
Since Rivers took over as the head coach of St. Michael’s Catholic High School, the football team went 49-20 in six seasons. In that span, St. Michael’s Catholic had five winning records, twice winning double-digit games and going three straight seasons ranked inside the top 100 among Alabama schools.
Rivers’ two best seasons as a high school coach came in 2024 and 2025, reaching the 4A state semifinal in both seasons before losing in the semifinals. However, the team took a step back this season, reverting to a 6-5 record.
The biggest reason why Rivers coached St. Michael’s is that his son, Gunner, was a quarterback on the team beginning in 2022. Gunner took over as the starting quarterback in 2023 and appeared in 39 games between 2023 and 2025, but he played in just three games this season.
What is most notable for Rivers at St. Michael’s is that he took over a team with consistent losing records.
St Michael’s was 5-25 in their first four years of football. Under Rivers they were 48-21, with two deep playoff runs ended by the eventual champion. Coach Rivers is St Michael’s football. The guy left to play in the NFL and still came back. If this is it. It is one hell of a run.
— Southern Charm Sports (@SouthernCharmSp) November 7, 2026
After St. Michael’s season ended this year, Rivers evaluated his time as the team’s football coach.
“If it were to be the last time out here, a lot was accomplished,” Rivers said. “Certainly, if that were to be the case, it will be left better than it was six years ago.”
For Rivers to succeed at Raleigh, he will need to adjust his style to the college game, but there is clearly some element of head coaching ability that he developed in his career.
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