Midway through his 14th season with the team, NC State head coach Dave Doeren was abruptly fired following the team’s 3-4 start.
“I’ve coached 32 years, and I’ve never been unemployed,” Doeren said this week. “So these last few days in October, waking up with an empty calendar, with no alarm clock has been very different – to wake up on a Monday morning and not be thinking about the next game or the last game or what’s going on, never in my life.”
Doeren, 54, had a 98-74 record with the Wolfpack and became the program’s winningest coach with a 2023 victory over Miami.
With the longtime head coach gone, a former NFL star quarterback is gaining steam for the job.
Philip Rivers Becomes Focus of NC State Search
College football insiders Chris Low, Pete Nakoz and Brett McMurphy of On3 revealed Philip Rivers is now the focus of NC State’s coaching search. Rivers is in the midst of coaching St. Michael Catholic, a high school football team in Fairhope, AL.
The team currently sits at 6-3, but went 13-1 and finished second in their respective division last year.
BREAKING: NC State legend and former NFL QB Philip Rivers has emerged as the focus of the Wolfpack’s coaching search, @Clowfb, @PeteNakos and @Brett_McMurphy report🐺
With Rivers finishing out the high school season in Alabama, sources tell On3 there is no timetable for his… pic.twitter.com/HeH2OWCK3v— On3 (@On3) October 30, 2026
The longtime NFL quarterback, who threw for nearly 64,000 yards with 425 touchdowns and 212 interceptions, previously interview for the Buffalo Bills vacancy during the 2026 offseason.
During the 2025 season, in which Rivers came back and played for the Indianapolis Colts, he suggested he has what it takes to coach in the league.
“I do think, as humbly as I can say it, that I could coach at this level,” Rivers said. “I know enough about the game and about the guys, and from a leadership standpoint, camaraderie, all that comes with it. But again, that’s not something that I’m sitting here pursuing.”
NC State sure isn’t the NFL, but Rivers could create a logical next step to the NFL by lifting his alma mater into contention.
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