New on Sports Illustrated: Philip Rivers Leads Alabama High School to Win in Coaching Debut

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Philip Rivers is now 1–0 as a high school football coach after a 49-0 victory with St. Michael Catholic in Alabama.

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Former Colts and Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers secured his first win as a head coach on Thursday as he guided St. Michael Catholic to a 49-0 win.

Rivers tallied 134 wins as an NFL quarterback across 17 seasons, landing him No. 8 on the all-time leaderboard. But Thursday's win with the Alabama high school appears to be one of the highlights of Rivers's football career. 

"It's the process that makes it awesome," Rivers

said postgame. "Tonight was special. Shoot, I'm looking over and Dad's standing on the track, Mom's in the stands, my boys are spotting the ball, my brother is here coaching. ... It was that kind of night."

Rivers was hired as the head coach at St. Michael Catholic in Fairhope, Ala. in May 2020, with the role open for him at the conclusion of his NFL career. Rivers is now following in the footsteps of his father, Steve, who previously spent 25 years as a high school football coach in Alabama. 

“It’s a special day for me and my family really,” Rivers said upon being hired. "I had two childhood dreams. One was to play in the NFL, and I’m now going into my 17th season. The other was to be a high school football coach as my dad was."

"How blessed am I to be able to live both of those out."

Rivers, 39, was an eight-time Pro Bowler during his NFL career. He led the NFL in yards-per-attempt three times, and he retired after the 2020 season with 63,440 passing yards and 421 touchdowns. Rivers could make a potential return to the NFL in 2021, telling the Los Angeles Times "I have not completely ruled that out."

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