Philip Rivers did not shut down the idea of coaching NC State. CBS Sports' Austin Nivison reported that Rivers "certainly didn't rule out" the job after his high school team's game Friday, and the quote he gave was "You never say never."
The other reporting puts that remark in a larger context. ESPN reported that the former Wolfpack quarterback has engaged in serious discussions about returning to coach his alma mater, but its sources said a deal isn't close. Yahoo Sports, summarizing a ClutchPoints post, relayed a line from The Athletic: an industry source called Rivers getting the job "definitely more than smoke." Only ClutchPoints' summary says Dave Doeren was fired in the middle of a bad season. The CBS and ESPN summaries we have don't address that. ESPN's "not close" is the most cautious account, and the Athletic quote points the other way, so the outlets don't fully agree on how far along this is.
The season Doeren leaves behind is a mixed one. NC State is 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC, 15th in the conference, and it has lost two straight. Our archive lists Todd Goebbel as head coach with a 0-0 record next to Doeren's 3-4, but none of the reporting says what Goebbel's role is, so we won't characterize it.
The team's results this year have been uneven. The Wolfpack opened with an 8-34 loss at Virginia, then beat Richmond 73-0. They lost 31-35 at Vanderbilt, beat Appalachian State 41-31 and Louisville 31-28, then lost 14-38 to Wake Forest on Oct. 10. They are 3-1 at home and 0-2 on the road. Over those six finished games they have scored 33 points per game and allowed 27.7. The offense is producing and the defense is giving the points back.
3-4, 1-3 conf15th in ACCStreak L2
Our data also shows NC State hosting Cal today, with the game live and the Wolfpack ahead 31-10 at the time of our last update. The final score will count toward the record any new coach inherits. The Wolfpack's next scheduled game after that is Nov. 7 against Duke. Rivers has not said he wants the job, and ESPN says no deal is near, so who is on the sideline then is still open.
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