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Philip Rivers is assembling a potential NC State staff. This is getting real
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- Philip Rivers is assembling a potential NC State staff. This is getting real
In an unprecedented era of college football , North Carolina State is prepared to go one of the sport's most unconventional routes to finding its next head coach.
Philip Rivers , whose No. 17 jersey was retired by the Wolfpack after his record-breaking career in Raleigh, is the primary focus to become the next head coach at his alma mater, five people with knowledge of the search told USA TODAY Sports.
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He would replace Dave Doeren, who was fired midseason after 14 years leading the Wolfpack.
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ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Tuesday the school interviewed another former star Wolfpack QB in Russell Wilson , but Rivers has already begun sounding out potential members for his NC State staff, a person with knowledge of the search told USA TODAY Sports.
Quarterback Philip Rivers #17 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack celebrates during the game against the Ohio State University Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on September 13, 2003 in Columbus, Ohio.
Rivers remains NC State's all-time record-holder with 51 consecutive starts at quarterback. He was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year in 2003 and the conference's Male Athlete of the Year in 2004.
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Former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer, who made his own jump from high school to college head coach, heralded NC State's decision to look at Rivers.
"I didn't fail in X's and O's or with recruiting," Dilfer exclusively told USA TODAY Sports . "I failed in rallying the base. I just couldn't get the UAB base rallied. But he's such a more natural fit.
"I mean, the base will be psychotically rallied around their all-time greatest player being their head coach."
Dilfer believes that if NC State is fully committed to its football program, Rivers can find almost immediate success.
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"Because he'll be relational, he'll be able to identify a good player from an overvalued recruit or player," said Dilfer, who after three seasons at UAB now has returned to the high school ranks in Tennessee. "There's tons of overvalued recruits. I think what we know from our NFL days is what true value is. It's then having the resources to pay that number.
"If NC State's willing to go all in on that, then Philip will be a home run because he'll be able to evaluate them, recruit them, and now pay them. We could evaluate them as good as anybody. That's true, just based on all the guys we had at UAB that are now Power-Four starters. We could recruit them because it's relational, and we're good at. We just couldn't keep them. We couldn't pay them, and we couldn't get the ones out the portal because you don't have the money."
Rivers would bring decades of NFL experience to Raleigh. Across 16 full seasons, along with a three-game return in 2025, he was an eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback and the NFL's 2013 Comeback Player of the Year.
Those who have worked closely with Rivers point to his leadership as another reason to believe the unconventional hire can work.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Philip Rivers is assembling a potential NC State staff. This is getting real
