Philip Rivers

Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football for the NC State Wolfpack and was selected fourth overall in the 2004 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, who traded him to the San Diego Chargers for Eli Manning during the draft. Rivers was a member of the Chargers for 16 seasons and played his final season for the Indianapolis Colts. Since 2021, he has served as the head football coach at St. Michael Catholic High School. After spending his first two seasons as a backup, Rivers served as the Chargers' starting quarterback from 2006 to 2019. During his tenure, he was named to eight Pro Bowls while leading the team to six postseason appearances and four division titles. Rivers also helped the franchise win their first playoff game since 1994 and reach the AFC Championship Game in the 2007 season. With the Colts in 2020, he reached the playoffs a seventh time. He was less successful in the postseason, however, and never made a Super Bowl appearance. Rivers retired fifth all-time in passing yards and touchdowns, both of which are the highest-ranking among quarterbacks without Super Bowl appearances. He is also second all-time in consecutive regular season starts by a quarterback, having started every regular season game between 2006 and 2020. Rivers is considered among the greatest quarterbacks to have never played in a Super Bowl. Early life Rivers was born in Decatur, Alabama, where his father, Steve, was the head coach of Decatur High's football team and his mother, Joan, was a teacher. As part of a fifth-grade project, he had to make a poster about his dreams and aspirations. On the poster, he pasted his face over that of a Minnesota Vikings player who had appeared on a cover of Sports Illustrated. Rivers' first start in an official game came in the seventh grade, in 1994. He has worn the number 17 jersey since the ninth grade, in honor of his father, who wore the same number in high school. After his dad got the head coaching job, Rivers played high school football at Athens High School in nearby Athens.