Philip Rivers sparked chaotic scenes at the Alabama high school he coached at, as the 44-year-old grandfather rolled back the years on Monday Night Football.
The veteran quarterback, who was coaching high school football just weeks ago, threw two touchdown passes in a gritty display against the San Francisco 49ers.
Despite the Indianapolis Colts falling 48-27 at Lucas Oil Stadium, the story of the night remained the improbable return of ‘Grandpa Rivers.’
The highlight of the night came when Rivers launched a 20-yard pass deep to the right, finding Alec Pierce in the end zone for a spectacular touchdown.
At St. Michael Catholic High School, the players Rivers usually commands from the sidelines were seen screaming and jumping as their coach rolled back the years.
‘COACH RIVERS DID IT AGAIN’, read a post on X, which showed the chaotic scenes. ‘St. Michael football team watch party erupts again when Coach Rivers threw his 2nd TD back in the league.
Philip Rivers completed 23-of-35 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns on Monday night
Footage showed Rivers’ high school football players wildly celebrating his touchdown pass
Rivers finished the night completing 23-of-35 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns – but did get sacked twice and intercepted once by the defense.
It was a case of history repeating itself for the St. Michael students, who previously went viral for their wild celebrations after Rivers threw his first touchdown since returning to the league last Sunday.
The Chargers icon – who recently turned 44, has 10 kids and is also a grandfather – was lured out of retirement at the start of the month following the Colts’ quarterback injury crisis – with starter Daniel Jones ruled out for the season.
His return has been an emotional rollercoaster, with Rivers previously bursting into tears following a narrow loss to the Seattle Seahawks in his first game back.
‘Maybe it will inspire or teach not to run or be scared of what may or may not happen,’ Rivers told the media of his comeback.
‘Certainly I think of my sons and those ballplayers I’m in charge of at the school that they’ll say like, ‘Crap, coach wasn’t scared,’ you know what I mean?’
He continued: ‘Sometimes there is doubt, and it’s real. The guaranteed safe bet is to go home or not go for it. And the other one is shoot, let’s see what happens.’
While his passing performance was outshone by 49ers star Brock Purdy’s five-touchdown masterclass, Rivers kept the Colts competitive deep into the second half.
Despite falling the defeat, Rivers kept the Colts competitive deep into the second half
Tampa Bay quarterback Teddy Bridgewater similarly came out of retirement for an NFL return
Interestingly, Rivers is not the only veteran quarterback to have U-turned on their NFL retirement and returned to the field after a stint coaching high school football.
Bucs quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has followed a remarkably similar path after initially calling time on his professional career in 2023.
Following his retirement, the former first-round pick returned to his alma mater, Miami Northwestern, where he was hired as the head football coach.
However, the allure of the professional game remained too strong and, just weeks after hoisting a state trophy, Bridgewater stunned fans by coming out of retirement to re-sign with the Detroit Lions ahead of their playoff run.
He appeared in the 2025 postseason, even completing a pass during the Lions’ Divisional Round game, before signing for Tampa Bay back in August.