Grading Philip Rivers as NC State’s Next Football Coach: Wolfpack Follows Familiar Path

You have to admit, NC State has a type and a remarkably straightforward approach to finding a coach in its two most prominent sports in the past year.

In the spring, after getting dumped by Will Wade after just a season, the Wolfpack moved swiftly to hire former player Justin Gainey. While he was light on experience, the former Rick Barnes assistant had the greatest qualification for those at the school writing checks: He was one of them.

Now this fall, in seeking to replace the ever consistent Dave Doeren, NC State has used the same playbook. There was just one option for the program to turn the keys over and what little search there was for a new football coach came down simply to Philip Rivers only.

Give the school credit for being both incredibly predictable and out of the box. It’s a massive risk with a beloved alum who will have little time to get up to speed on how to run a college program. NC State is counting on the learning curve not being that steep, to hopefully learn some lessons from the NFL–to–college football changes, and that Rivers can unite the fan base (and money). It won’t be easy, but it sure won’t be boring either.

What it means for NC State

Would the Wolfpack hire a high school head coach whose last collegiate experience came in 2003 and whose only recruiting background was his son’s journey? Of course not.

However, this hire has been telegraphed by the program for more than just the past few weeks for two reasons. First is it gives those in red something to believe in. Rivers understands the quirks, deficiencies and positives of NC State in ways few can. Many have felt plenty of nostalgia seeing highlights of the side-armed quarterback slinging passes in the team’s heyday. Rivers is responsible for the best season in program history in 2002 when the Wolfpack won 11 games and beat Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. This is a hire to bridge that past with a future that is as up in the air as any.

Bringing in Rivers is also a giant play for money and resources. He is close with many key boosters and his mere presence is a good bet that he can get even more folks to open up their wallets. NC State was likely in the top third of the ACC in roster spending this season—well behind Miami but not too far off Virginia Tech—yet even then, more is going to be needed if they want to reach the top of the ACC and the now 24-team College Football Playoff. Rivers taking a below-market rate salary, and likely the same for his son, Gunner, to potentially be the starting quarterback, only further adds to the Wolfpack’s ability to be competitive from a spending standpoint right away.

It’s Moneyball, but counting on the loyalty of a very rich NFL star to do so.

The good news is that if it all goes horribly, NC State probably isn’t any worse for the wear and can reboot yet again down the road as the kind of program capable of so much more than what it’s shown historically.

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What it means for Philip Rivers

There’s no question this is a reputational risk for Rivers. He showed some coaching acumen in taking St. Michael’s Catholic High School in Fairhope, Ala., to a 48–20 overall record after it had accomplished little prior to his arrival. He is so closely connected to the Wolfpack that the need and desire to succeed will be immense—because no one wants to get fired from their alma mater.

How Rivers goes about finding success early in his tenure will largely come down to the people he surrounds himself with. That can’t be yes men, a slew of NC State alums or old NFL buddies. It needs to be good coaches with intimate knowledge of college football who know how to game plan every week to win. Rivers should be fine at managing games with a headset on and instilling a good culture in the program, but this entire experience is largely going to come down to his humility and trying to be a good fit as a head coach instead of simply being a big name with a folksy cache.

There’s a chance it all works out. Many from the professional ranks rave about Rivers’s abilities off the field as a future coach. That only happens at NC State the next couple of years if we stop showing highlights of him throwing the ball around and more of his team doing so in big wins.

Final Grade: B

The track record for those in Rivers’s shoes is dreadful, point blank. High school coaches jumping up a level have a steep learning curve and the current environment that relies even more on roster building and money do them no favors.

That doesn’t mean Rivers is destined to fail. If anybody can bring the right moxie to the position, a sharp mind for football and enough cache (and cash) to the role, it’s one of the greatest players in school history.

It would make for a great story in the Triangle if it all works out. Don’t be surprised, though, if the ending doesn’t end so happily for the Wolfpack given all he has to overcome to be a success.

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