State’s head coaching search is officially over with the announcement on Friday that Philip Rivers will take over the reins of this team at the season’s end.
NC State Brings Rivers Home
The decision comes nearly three weeks after the abrupt firing of Dave Doeren, who slowly became the winningest coach in school history during his long tenure.
The leaders in charge sought a drastic overhaul after enduring a tenure that was slightly better than average over the last 14 seasons.
“I am humbled and honored to be the next football coach at NC State University,” Rivers said in a press release. “In many ways, I feel like I’m coming home. This is where it all began for me as an 18-year-old kid from Alabama, and now to return to this great place as head coach is beyond words.”
Rivers knows the challenge ahead, and he sounds prepared to do the work needed to put NC State on a better trajectory.
It was always 17. pic.twitter.com/UeNitkMW7Q
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) November 13, 2026
“I gave it everything I had here as a player for 51 games, and I will give it everything I have as the coach,” Rivers said. “There’s no denying that this is going to take hard work, but we’re not scared of hard.”
According to The Charlotte Observer, Rivers signed a five-year deal worth $18.3 million through the 2031 season.
Blocking Out The Distractions
All the attention on the coaching search has shifted focus away from the football team that got handed a devastating 41-3 loss to Duke a week ago.
NC State’s Todd Goebbel, who is now in his third week as interim head coach, has tried to keep his Wolfpack on track despite all the outside noise.
“We all understand there’s a lot of distractions out there right now, even more as we move forward,” Goebbel said on Thursday. “We got good kids that are still willing to fight and show up on time and get ready for the game plan, and coaches as well. So that’s where our focus has been: getting prepared for Syracuse.”
NC State welcomes Syracuse to Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday in search of its first win over the Orange since the 2021 season…