High school coaches rarely succeed after jump to college. Could Philip Rivers change that?
· Yahoo Sports
North Carolina State legend Philip Rivers might be a real candidate for the Wolfpack's head coach opening, despite having no experience at the college level.
Rivers, who coaches St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama, is reportedly an option to replace Dave Doeren, who was fired midway through the 2026 season. The former NC State quarterback is arguably the school's greatest player in history, as he went No. 4 overall in the 2004 NFL Draft before passing for over 63,000 yards with eight Pro Bowl selections for the Chargers and Colts.
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Rivers retired in 2020 before briefly coming out of retirement in 2025, starting three games for the Colts at 44 years old. In the years in between he has St. Michael Catholic to four consecutive 4A playoffs appearances.
If NC State was to hire Rivers, it would be a rare move from high school head coach to college head coach. The history of coaches to have done the same is not a successful group, with former UAB coach Trent Dilfer being the most recent.
How have coaches to have jumped from high school to college fared? Here's a look at college head coaches that have made the jump straight from high school head coach to college head coach, including their records:
Records of high school coaches making jump to college level
Rivers being hired as a head coach straight from the high school ranks would be a rarity, especially at a Power Four school during the modern era of college football. Those that have made the jump haven't fared very well.
Only five coaches have been hired as head coaches from the high school ranks since 1974. Of those five coaches, only former Notre Dame coach Gerry Faust finished his college career with a winning record, although he went 30-26-1 at the powerhouse program. Faust was replaced by Lou Holtz, one of the greatest coaches in program history.
Faust is the only one to have won a bowl game, as he won the Liberty Bowl in 1983.
Here's a look at those five coaches' records after making the jump:
- Bob Commings, Iowa (1974-78): 17-37
- Gerry Faust, Notre Dame (1981-85): 30-26-1
- Todd Dodge, North Texas (2007-10): 6-37
- Tony Sanchez, UNLV (2015-19): 20-40
- Trent Dilfer, UAB (2023-25): 9-21
Philip Rivers high school coaching record
Rivers had a slow start to his high school coaching career, but St. Michael has been on a nice run the last three seasons. He started his career with a 17-13 record from 2021-23, before going 25-3 from 2024-25. Rivers and St. Michael are off to a 6-3 start so far in 2026.
- 2021: 6-3
- 2022: 5-5
- 2023: 6-5
- 2024: 12-2
- 2025: 13-1 (state semifinals)
- 2026: 6-3
What Philip Rivers can learn from Trent Dilfer, if hired by NC State
Dilfer told USA TODAY Sports on Monday, Oct. 26, that there will inevitably be some learning on the fly if NC State were to hire Rivers as its next head coach.
He did admit, though, that Rivers would be a much more natural fit with the Wolfpack than he was at UAB.
“I think Philip has a history of being an incredible football mind, an elite leader, has strong conviction, and there’s going to be stuff he’s not ready for,” Dilfer. “But neither is the defensive coordinator, neither is the next-best guy out there. You know what I mean? And you talk to the guys are having success right now. Will Stein at Kentucky, I bet if you called Will Stein right now he’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ve been learning on the fly. I have good people around me.’
“Where I failed, we didn’t fail in Xs and Os or with the recruiting. I failed in rallying the base. I just, I 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., if that’s indeed what happens.”
Who is Philip Rivers' son, Gunner Rivers?
Rivers' son, Gunner Rivers, is a four-star prospect currently committed to North Carolina State. Maybe that plays a role in Rivers getting the job?
Gunner Rivers stars for St. Michael Catholic, where Rivers is the head coach. He's the No. 139 player nationally and No. 12 quarterback in the 2027 class, per 247Sports' Composite rankings.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: High school coaches rarely succeed after jump to college. Could Philip Rivers change that?