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Philip Rivers earns first win as high school head coach in dominant fashion

Philip Rivers officially began a new chapter in his football career on Thursday night, picking up his first win as a high school head coach.

Rivers coached his first game Fairhope (Ala.) St. Michael Catholic, leading the Cardinals to a 49-0 win over McIntosh High School. Rivers took over as the head coach at St. Michael upon retiring from the NFL this past winter.

“Tonight was special,” Rivers told Al.com. “I’m looking over and Dad is standing on the track. Mom is in the stands. My boys are spotting the ball. My brother is here coaching. I have nephews and daughters and nieces running around. It was that kind of night, just thinking ‘Wow, what has happened in 25 years.’

“Then it was really all about the boys. I told them I was excited to watch them play, and I really was. They had a different approach than they did last week because they knew it would count.”

St. Michael struggled before Rivers became the program’s head coach, going 6-21 the last three seasons. The program has the potential to reach new heights with the former NFL great running the show, though, making it possible that Thursday’s win was a sign of things to come in Fairhope.

“It was a good win,” Rivers said. “We did some things that were a little sloppy that I’m probably glad they happened now. We can clean them up and the boys can see, ‘Hey, that’s not going to cut it in region play.’ But all in all, we had a lot of different guys touch the ball. All the wideouts touched the ball. We ran it well. It’s a good start, but we have a long way to go.”

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