NC State Hiring Philip Rivers: What Son Gunner Has Said About Playing for His Dad

Gunner Rivers chose NC State after Alabama and Auburn coaches visited his school, and he has called his father the best high school coach there is.

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Philip Rivers is finalizing a deal to become NC State’s next head coach, a move that would let the Wolfpack legend keep coaching his son, four-star quarterback commit Gunner Rivers, at the college level.

The deal came together after St. Michael Catholic’s season ended Friday in a 42-35 playoff loss to Glenwood School. Gunner started that game after missing most of his senior season with a right knee injury, and he threw two touchdown passes.

Gunner Rivers on playing for his dad

🚨 NC STATE IS MAKING A SPLASH!

The Wolfpack are hiring NFL legend Philip Rivers as their next head coach.

Rivers returns to his alma mater, where he was a legendary QB from 2000–2003.

The storyline gets even better: His son, Gunner Rivers, is committed to NC State as a QB. pic.twitter.com/ajKjOXyUqB

— CFBTalkDaily (@CFBTalkDaily) November 8, 2026

Gunner first took varsity snaps for his father as an eighth-grader in 2022, and he has started at quarterback for St. Michael since his freshman season. He hasn’t hedged when asked about his coach.

“He’s the best coach you can have in high school football,” Gunner said. “I am a little biased, but I think he’s the best high school football coach there is.”

Philip’s three-start return with the Indianapolis Colts in 2025 also shaped how the Fairhope quarterback views his father’s career, and he said in August that Philip had options well beyond high school.

“He really could be a head coach or any coach in the NFL or college,” Gunner said. “But the fact that he wants to be here with the high school guys, we take what we can learn from that.”

Gunner also throws with the same three-quarter release that defined his father’s NFL career, and Philip noticed it early.

“My son never did throw a big ball like I did at that age, and he throws it the exact same way,” Philip said in 2020.

Why did Gunner pick NC State?

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Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan visited St. Michael in January 2025, the same month Auburn gave Gunner his first in-state Power 4 offer.

But a trip to Carter-Finley Stadium shifted his thinking. Gunner watched NC State beat North Carolina 42-19 on Nov. 29, 2025, and he committed to the Wolfpack less than three months later.

“They were always at the top of the list, I’d say. But for a minute, it actually wasn’t,” Gunner said. “I went to the NC State-North Carolina game, and just the environment there... something about it just felt like home.”

Philip said he kept his own preferences out of the recruitment. “The thing I tried to keep reminding myself is it doesn’t matter who I like to talk ball with. It matters who he meshes with and who he feels connected with,” he said.

“He came to me and said, ‘Hey Dad, I want to go to NC State.’ I said, ‘Good. If you’re good, I’m good,’” Philip recalled. “I was glad he got to come to that on his own.”

Philip Rivers on coaching Gunner at NC State

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Philip addressed the father-son angle after Friday’s loss, calling the chance to coach Gunner in college “certainly” a factor in his decision.

“Should it come to that, I wouldn’t call that the deciding factor. But certainly would be special,” Philip said.

He also credited Gunner for how he handled the injury. “When something you love is taken from you, it puts things in perspective,” Philip said.

Gunner reaffirmed his commitment in late October, saying he’s “staying 100% locked in with the Pack!” He entered the playoffs with 10,847 career passing yards and 119 touchdowns, and he’ll join an NC State team that fell to 4-5 with a 41-3 home loss to Duke on Saturday.