Former Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson interviewed Tuesday for the head coaching vacancy at North Carolina State, his alma mater for three seasons, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
NC State fired longtime head coach Dave Doeren on Oct. 24 after a 3-4 start in 2026. Doeren finished 98-73 overall in 14 seasons as the program’s winningest coach. Todd Goebbel is serving as interim coach for the remainder of the season while the Wolfpack conduct a national search.
Schefter’s report adds a significant name to a process that had already centered on another former NC State quarterback: Philip Rivers. Schefter noted that the school “now has two former NFL greats who starred there, Wilson and Philip Rivers, as prominent head-coaching candidates.”
The Rivers connection
Rivers, who played at NC State from 2000-03, has long been viewed as a leading candidate and a fan favorite in Raleigh. His No. 17 jersey was retired before his final home game, and he remains one of the most popular figures in program history. He has spent recent years as the head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama, where he has guided the program to state playoff success. His son, Gunner Rivers, is a four-star quarterback in the 2027 class committed to NC State.
Rivers has told the school he wants to finish the current high school season before potentially making a move, according to reports. He has no college coaching experience but brings high school head-coaching experience and a deep, enduring connection to the program and its fan base.
Wilson’s path
Wilson starred for the Wolfpack from 2008-10, throwing for 8,545 yards and 76 touchdowns in 36 games before transferring to Wisconsin for his final season. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft and went on to a 14-year career that included a Super Bowl title, 10 Pro Bowl selections, and more than 46,000 passing yards. He announced his retirement earlier in 2026 and has worked as a CBS analyst.
Unlike Rivers, Wilson has no formal coaching experience at any level. His candidacy represents a higher-profile but less conventional option.
Differing perceptions
The contrast in how the two quarterbacks are discussed and remembered is notable. Rivers has long been widely liked across his career. Teammates and observers have consistently described him as competitive, authentic, and well-regarded in locker rooms, a perception reinforced by his high school coaching work and the genuine affection he still draws in Raleigh.
Wilson’s public and locker-room image has been more complicated. While he won a Super Bowl and was productive for years in Seattle, reporting over the years has highlighted tensions with teammates and a perception that he sought personal accolades and special treatment. Former Seahawks teammates and others have described friction around leadership style, authenticity, and preferential treatment, and those dynamics carried into later stops in Denver and elsewhere. That reputation stands in contrast to the near-universal goodwill that has followed Rivers.
Both candidates would represent unconventional hires for a Power conference job given their limited (or nonexistent) college coaching resumes. Rivers enters with more established momentum as a candidate and stronger institutional ties. Wilson’s interview expands the field and adds another high-profile former Wolfpack quarterback to a search that already featured one.
NC State has not publicly commented on either candidate beyond the general announcement of a national search.