Russell Wilson has been pulled into the NC State coaching search, and on Friday he finally addressed it on national television. Interestingly, his answer left the possibility open without suggesting he was ready to walk through it.
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“Well, listen, when your alma mater calls, you always answer. But I love doing what I’m doing. CBS is amazing. It’s a blast, doing the broadcasting world,” Wilson said on TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle on November 6, where he appeared alongside his wife, Ciara.
The hosts brought up reports that he had gone in for a job interview, and Wilson neither confirmed nor denied that part. However, his response did lean toward the suggestion that he went.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Wilson interviewed for the vacant head coaching job on Tuesday, November 3. When the hosts asked if he could see coaching in his future, no matter where, Wilson kept it short.
“I think that I’m focused on right now. Right now is loving what I’m doing. And that’s continuing,” Wilson said.
NC State’s opening exists because the school parted ways with Dave Doeren on October 24, the day after a 31-28 loss at Stanford dropped the Wolfpack to 3-4.
That game capped a rough year that had also included a loss to Virginia in the opener, a defeat to Vanderbilt on the final play, and a home game against Wake Forest in which NC State was shut out 28-0 after halftime. Doeren took the blame himself.
“I know this year was disappointing, and I take total blame for that,” Doeren said.
He spent 14 seasons in Raleigh and went 98-74, which is the most wins any coach has had at the school. He never won 10 games in a season or reached the ACC Championship Game, though. Todd Goebbel is now the interim coach.
Right now, Wilson’s day job is in a CBS studio. He retired from the NFL in June at 37 and went straight to The NFL Today as an analyst. Before that, he put together a 14-year career that included 10 Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl XLVIII title for Seattle, the team that picked him in the third round in 2012. His ties to NC State go back further. He was the Wolfpack’s quarterback from 2008 to 2010, then moved on to Wisconsin for 2011.
Another famous Wolfpack passer is also in the conversation. Philip Rivers, 44, played in Raleigh from 2000 to 2003 and is a prominent candidate for the job. College sidelines are new to him.
He is currently in his sixth season leading St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama, and his team has reached the state semifinals in each of the last two years. ESPN sources say he let NC State know he would like to see this high school season through before making any move.
For now, Wilson is pointing to his current job, and NC State still has a search to run. Whether that call turns into an offer, and whether Wilson would take it, is still unanswered.