The time has come, Daddy-Mom.
The man whose humorous shouting was as well known as his highly heterodox and highly effective pitches is to hang his helmet to put on a different hat.
Philip Rivers, who came to San Diego on a draft day in 2004 and played as a defender on the Chargers, except for his last NFL season, will announce his retirement today.
“It’s time,” Rivers told the Union-Tribune on Tuesday night from his home in Indianapolis, where earlier this month he completed his only season with the Colts. “It’s just right.”
Rivers, who has worn shirt 17 over his 17 seasons, has played 244 matches, starting the last 240 of them without interruption. This streak is the second longest for an NFL quarterback, behind Brett Favre’s 297.
His retirement comes 13 years after Rivers played in the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots, just six days after undergoing surgery to remove the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
It is a day long loved by devout Catholics, since January 20 is the feast of Saint Sebastian of the Roman Catholic Church. Sebastian is often referred to as the patron saint of athletes.
Rivers, 39, finishes his career in fifth place of all time, with 63,440 passing yards and 421 touchdown passes.
“I can sit here and say, ‘I can still throw it away. I love to play, ‘”said Rivers. “But it will always be there. I’m excited to be going to school as a football coach. “
Rivers’ appointment as principal football coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama, since his retirement, was announced last May. He spoke Tuesday night about being on campus in time to meet his players before football.
“What helped me get to that (decision) is the growing desire to train football in high school,” he said. “This is what I always wanted to do. It’s growing up. Can not wait. “
Rivers’ father, Steve, trained him at school. Rivers’ eldest son, Gunner, is in seventh grade.
Rivers helped lead the Colts to a record 11-5 and playoff berth this season, exceeding 4,000 passing yards for the eighth consecutive season and 12º time in your career. His final pass was a Hail Mary in Buffalo, who fell short of the end zone in the Colts’ 27-24 defeat by Bills in an AFC Wild Card game.
It was the seventh trip to the playoffs as a starting defender for Rivers, who never made it to a Super Bowl. He took up his initial role in 2006 and went into the playoffs with the Chargers six times, including every year from ’06 -09 and again in ’13, while the team was in San Diego.
“It was incredible,” said Rivers of his career. “A young man from northern Alabama who grew up wanting to play professional ball. I need to do this. “
Although he said he was “100 percent at peace” with his decision, Rivers knows he will miss the camaraderie of a locker room and the huddle, combining reasoning and exchanging words (always G-rated on his side) with defenses and little things like hitting helmets with their attackers before the first series of a game.
He spoke fondly of San Diego, where the family lived when eight of their nine children were born. Even after the Chargers moved to Los Angeles in 2017, Rivers traveled to practice and games at home from his home in North County.
“I never would have chosen San Diego,” he said. “Not because I didn’t like it. I did not know that. I’m grateful. God put us there. “
What Rivers sees as divine direction came in the form of an exchange that sent Eli Manning to the New York Giants after the Chargers first selected him overall.
It was prayer, contemplation and conversation since the end of the season that convinced Rivers that the time had come.
“This is the first year that I felt the ending was real,” he said. “We talked about it for years, but we knew we weren’t doing it. This year was different. … It just felt right. “