Philip Rivers confirmed his NFL career will be over once the Indianapolis Colts’ season ends this weekend.
The 44-year-old came out of retirement a month ago after the Colts lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a season-ending injury. He made three starts – all losses – and said he is returning to coaching high school football in Alabama.
“I’m back on the sidelines,” Rivers said Wednesday on the “Up & Adams Show.” “This was a fun three-week blur that no one saw coming, including myself, and that will be it.”
He has been the head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Ala., since initially retiring after the 2020 season. His son, Gunner, will be the senior quarterback at St. Michael in the fall.
“My second son is in ninth grade, so they will be on the same team together,” Rivers said. “It’ll be fun to come back. The guys back home at school are really excited. … It’ll be a kickstart for our offseason program, to say the least. Maybe now they’ll take some of the things I say to them a little more seriously.”
Rivers was approached by Colts coach Shane Steichen after the Jones injury about coming out of retirement to give Indianapolis a veteran presence. Rivers and Steichen have been colleagues for many years.
“Everything was spot on. If anyone else had called, there wouldn’t have been a chance,” Rivers said. “It was because it’s a place I’ve been, a team I knew, the offense was exactly the same, same coach. I knew our (high school) football season was over. It was all those things that made it the perfect storm.”
Rivers was a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist before embarking on the comeback. His candidacy will now be reset and he will be eligible for induction in 2031 due to the five-year waiting period after retirement.
He spent 16 seasons with the Chargers (13 in San Diego, three in Los Angeles) and one season (2020) with the Colts before initially retiring.
Rivers ranks sixth all-time in passing TDs (425) and eighth in passing yards (63,984) in NFL history.
In his three games with the Colts, he was 58 of 92 (63%) passing for 544 yards with four touchdown passes and three interceptions.
Rookie Riley Leonard will start for the Colts (8-8) against the Houston Texans on Sunday, while Indianapolis is out of the playoffs.
When the Colts signed Rivers, they hoped he could lead them to the postseason. Indianapolis started the season 7-1, but then fell to 8-5 before Rivers came on board.
His three games came against teams with double-digit wins and heading to the playoffs: the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
