NC State is about to hand its football program to Philip Rivers, a man whose last coaching job was high school ball in Fairhope, Alabama. ESPN reports the trustees are expected to make it official Friday. And I love it.

On paper this sounds crazy. Rivers is 44 and has never coached a single college game. He’s spent six seasons building St. Michael Catholic from scratch and got them to the state semifinals in 2024 and 2025. That’s the whole résumé.

But think about what NC State is actually buying. Rivers threw for 13,484 yards and 95 touchdowns in Raleigh from 2000 to 2003 and took the Wolfpack to four straight bowl games. He’s the most beloved player that program has ever had. Then he played 17 years in the NFL and came off the couch last year to start three games for the Colts. Recruits know exactly who that is. Their dads definitely do.

College football right now is NIL, the portal and selling a kid on you in a living room. A legend who talks like your uncle and still wants to compete at everything? That plays.

Here’s the uncomfortable question, though: who’s calling plays and who’s running the defense? Deion proved a big name can flip a program overnight. He also proved the name alone doesn’t keep it flipped. Rivers’ first hire matters more than his press conference.

And there’s a sweet piece to this. Chuck Amato, the coach who recruited Rivers to Raleigh, died last month at 80. Now his quarterback is going home to run the place. You can’t script that.

My take: it’s a better hire than the safe retread NC State could have made. Worst case, Rivers flames out in three years and the place is still more fun than it was under Dave Doeren, who was fired Oct. 24. Best case, Raleigh gets its own Deion moment, minus the sunglasses.

Faders: genius hire or nostalgia hire? Tell me on X @fiveandafade or on Instagram.

Every pick is free. Get them by email: subscribe here.

Jeremy Durham is a sports columnist for TriStar Daily and the founder of Five and a Fade.