Latest news with #PhilipRivers
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Phillip Rivers Calls it a Career
Phillip Rivers Calls it a Career originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Philip Rivers made it clear: his NFL journey ends where it truly began, with the Chargers. Though he last played in 2020 with the Colts, Rivers publicly confirmed on Monday what fans long assumed, announcing in a heartfelt team video, 'I'm retiring a Charger.' Rivers spent 16 years as the face of the Chargers franchise, from San Diego to Los Angeles, holding every major passing record in team history. His 137 career wins rank 10th among all NFL quarterbacks and second-most among those never to win a Super Bowl. In the emotional announcement, Rivers emphasized his gratitude. 'What I miss, and what I'm most thankful for, are the relationships,' he said, reflecting on a career defined as much by connection as by competition. The video was posted on the Chargers' social media page. "There's no one like Phil." Like many would expect, the responses were swift and emotionally charged. "As a NFL fan its hard to find a player to root for that has the same passion and intensity for the game of football as Phil," said one fan. This fan brought the emotion: "WE LOVE this so much! Forever 17! Major respect here: "256 Baby." San Diego love from this fan: "My QB. So much memories Phillip. Thank you. A true San Diego Charger." "1 of my fave players in any sport ever. rabid competitor. underrated & should be a 1st ballot Hall of Famer. a legend just for being the only football player EVER to play a game with a torn ACL. & a simple, great dude who was easy to root for. thx for everything Philip Rivers," mentioned by this commenter. More love: "Forever my quarterback." The Chargers later in the day sent out a message about their former quarterback. "The gosh darn best." Rivers threw for 63,440 yards and 421 touchdowns, ranking sixth in NFL history in both categories. He sits alongside legends like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Ben Roethlisberger, each with a Super Bowl ring, a distinction that eluded him. Known for his clean but fiery trash talk, Rivers stood out in an era of brash quarterbacks. 'Some clips I look at and just shake my head. But some, I think, dang, that was fun,' he said. 'It's like being in the backyard.' One of his most iconic moments came in the 2007 AFC Championship Game. Despite tearing his ACL the week before, Rivers played the full game against the Patriots. The Chargers lost, but Rivers' toughness became legend. The team's president, John Spanos, highlighted Rivers' legacy: 'He's one of the most important players in this franchise's history. It's what he did on and off the field, how he carried himself, and the success we had while he was here.' Rivers entered the league in the famed 2004 NFL Draft. Originally selected by the New York Giants, he was traded on draft day for No. 1 pick Eli Manning. While Manning won two Super Bowls with the Giants, Rivers went on to have a Hall-of-Fame-caliber run with the Chargers. He began as Drew Brees' backup but took over as the starter in 2006 and never missed another game. He started 252 straight, including playoffs — a streak only rivaled by legends of the game. 'Sixteen years. I never took that for granted,' Rivers said. 'They trusted me to be the quarterback. I'm forever thankful.' This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
Al Arabiya
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Chargers back in San Diego for 2 days at school where Harbaugh landed 1st head coaching job
The Chargers returned to San Diego on Tuesday for the first time since they bolted for Los Angeles eight years ago, holding the first of two practices at the small college stadium where Jim Harbaugh began his head coaching career in the mid-2000s. Harbaugh ran the Chargers through their first padded practice of training camp at Torero Stadium at the University of San Diego, a hilltop Jesuit school about five miles west of the site where they used to play. It was just the second time the Chargers have held a practice in San Diego County since 2017, when owner Dean Spanos moved them to Los Angeles after he was unable to get a stadium deal in San Diego. They held a walkthrough at Camp Pendleton in far northern San Diego County during minicamp in 2024. The Bolts haven't held a public event or practice here since their acrimonious split with the city they called home for 56 seasons. Tickets to Tuesday's practice were made available to active-duty military and veterans, and tickets to Wednesday's practice were available to season ticket holders. The 6,500-seat stadium appeared half full. A dozen or so fans watched from a public sidewalk overlooking the stadium. There were a lot of No. 10 Justin Herbert jerseys in the crowd and also some from the San Diego days, including Philip Rivers–who quarterbacked the Chargers in both cities–LaDainian Tomlinson, and Junior Seau. The Chargers were scheduled to hold a walkthrough on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on Tuesday evening. While some San Diegans still follow the Chargers, many remain bitter or have moved on from the NFL. Harbaugh said the idea to practice in San Diego came from the organization. 'I heard the idea and said, 'Heck yeah, let's do it,' and a suggestion if I might, 'let's do it at USD.' This is about as good as it gets.' Harbaugh was asked if having practices here was the sign of the team extending an olive branch to San Diego, where he still owns a home. 'I don't know anything about that. I never once heard the olive branch analogy used,' he said. 'We love our fans. We love our LA fans, we love San Diego fans, Santa Barbara, Fresno. We just want to go to our fans wherever they might be. Stockton. I want to go to Stockton. Just all those that come to see us, we want to go to them whenever we can.' Harbaugh played for the Chargers in 1999 when he replaced injured quarterback Ryan Leaf and in 2000 when he started five games during a 1-15 season. He said he often visited USD for basketball and baseball games and befriended Monsignor Daniel Dillabough. 'One basketball game I asked him if we could go look at the football field,' Harbaugh said. 'I stood on the top of the hill and said, 'This is incredible. Someday when I get done playing I'm going to go into coaching and it would be incredible if this is where I coached.'' He was quarterbacks coach of the Oakland Raiders when the USD job opened in 2004. 'I saw they had an opening for head coach and called Monsignor Dillabough and said, 'Remember what I said about five years ago?' And he said, 'I was hoping you would call.'' He coached at USD for three seasons, going 29-6 overall. 'It was my first head coaching opportunity, and the thing I've asked Monsignor before, 'What did you see in me to make you think I'd be a good head football coach?' I'd still like to know.' He hasn't told me that. Harbaugh said he wanted to get the blessing of Al Davis, who asked, 'Why would you do that? I thought you wanted to be a pro coach.' I said, 'Mr. Davis, I really want to emulate your career. I know you started as a college coach and I want to take the same path.' And he said, 'Yeah, but that was USC, not USD.' That's a fond memory for me. Harbaugh went on to coach at Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers, and Michigan. He led the Wolverines to the national championship to cap the scandal-plagued 2023 season. He was hired by the Chargers and led them to an 11-6 record last season before they lost to Houston in the wild-card round. He said being back at USD was incredible. 'As the buses came through, the little hairs on my arm were standing up.' Harbaugh praised Rivers, who on Monday announced in a video that he was retiring as a Charger. The quarterback played 16 seasons for the Chargers and last played for Indianapolis in 2020. 'Nothing but the highest respect for Philip Rivers,' Harbaugh said. 'He was so good, and I just appreciate him in every way. The thing that always stands out to me is coaching against Philip when the 49ers played the Chargers, his enthusiasm for the game is right there with Derwin James. His ability to talk during the play–sometimes he was directing it at the players, one time he directed it over at me,' Harbaugh said. 'Really, I guess 'talk smack,' as the young people say, and to do it without swearing is just another level of eliteness. Tremendous competitor. Everyone in the organization has love and appreciation for Philip Rivers. We're excited he's going to retire as a Charger.'
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chargers back in San Diego for 2 days at school where Harbaugh landed 1st head coaching job
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Chargers returned to San Diego on Tuesday for the first time since they bolted for Los Angeles eight years ago, holding the first of two practices at the small college stadium where Jim Harbaugh began his head coaching career in the mid-2000s. Harbaugh ran the Chargers through their first padded practice of training camp at Torero Stadium at the University of San Diego, a hilltop Jesuit school about five miles west of the site where they used to play. It was just the second time the Chargers have held a practice in San Diego County since 2017, when owner Dean Spanos moved them to Los Angeles after he was unable to get a stadium deal in San Diego. They held a walkthrough at Camp Pendleton in far northern San Diego County during minicamp in 2024. The Bolts haven't held a public event or practice here since their acrimonious split with the city they called home for 56 seasons. Tickets to Tuesday's practice were made available to active-duty military and veterans, and tickets to Wednesday's practice were available to season ticket holders. The 6,500-seat stadium appeared half full. A dozen or so fans watched from a public sidewalk overlooking the stadium. There were a lot of No. 10 Justin Herbert jerseys in the crowd, and also some from the San Diego days, including Philip Rivers — who quarterbacked the Chargers in both cities — LaDainian Tomlinson and Junior Seau. The Chargers were scheduled to hold a walkthrough on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on Tuesday evening. While some San Diegans still follow the Chargers, many remain bitter or have moved on from the NFL. Harbaugh said the idea to practice in San Diego 'came from the organization. I heard the idea and said, 'Heck yeah, let's do it and a suggestion, if I might, let's do it at USD.' This is about as good as it gets.' Harbaugh was asked if having practices here was the sign of the team extending an olive branch to San Diego, where he still owns a home. 'I don't know anything about that. I never once heard the olive branch analogy used,' he said. "We love our fans. We love our LA fans, we love San Diego fans, Santa Barbara, Fresno. We just want to go to our fans, wherever they might be. Stockton. I want to go to Stockton. Just all those that come to see us, we want to go to them whenever we can.' Harbaugh played for the Chargers in 1999, when he replaced injured quarterback Ryan Leaf, and in 2000, when he started five games during a 1-15 season. He said he often visited USD for basketball and baseball games and befriended Monsignor Daniel Dillabough. 'One basketball game I asked him if we could go look at the football field,' Harbaugh said. 'I stood on the top of the hill and said, 'This is incredible. Someday, when I get done playing, I'm going to go into coaching, and it would be incredible if this is where I coached.'' He was quarterbacks coach of the Oakland Raiders when the USD job opened in 2004. 'I saw they had an opening for head coach and called Monsignor Dillabough and said, 'Remember what I said about five years ago?' And he said, 'I was hoping you would call.'' He coached at USD for three seasons, going 29-6 overall. 'It was my first head coaching opportunity, and the thing I've asked Monsignor before, 'What did you see in me to make you think I'd be a good head football coach?' I'd still like to know. He hasn't told me that.' Harbaugh said he wanted to get the blessing of Al Davis, who asked, ''Why would you do that? I thought you wanted to be a pro coach.' I said, 'Mr. Davis, I really want to emulate your career. I know you started as a college coach and I want to take the same path.' And he said, 'Yeah, but that was USC, not USD.' That's a fond memory for me.' Harbaugh went on to coach at Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers and Michigan. He led the Wolverines to the national championship to cap the scandal-plagued 2023 season. He was hired by the Chargers and led them to an 11-6 record last season before they lost to Houston in the wild-card round. He said being back at USD was 'incredible. As the buses came through, the little hairs on my arm were standing up.' Harbaugh praised Rivers, who on Monday announced in a video that he was retiring as a Charger. The quarterback played 16 seasons for the Chargers and last played for Indianapolis in 2020. 'Nothing but the highest respect for Philip Rivers,' Harbaugh said. 'He was so good and I just appreciate him in every way. The thing that always stands out to me is coaching against Philip, when the 49ers played the Chargers, his enthusiasm for the game is right there with Derwin James. 'His ability to talk, during the play, sometimes he was directing it at the players, one time he directed it over at me,' Harbaugh said. 'Really, I guess, talk smack, as the young people say, and to do it without swearing is just another level of eliteness. Tremendous competitor. Everyone in the organization has love and appreciation for Philip Rivers. We're excited he's going to retire as a Charger.' ___ AP NFL:
Associated Press
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Chargers back in San Diego for 2 days at school where Harbaugh landed 1st head coaching job
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Chargers returned to San Diego on Tuesday for the first time since they bolted for Los Angeles eight years ago, holding the first of two practices at the small college stadium where Jim Harbaugh began his head coaching career in the mid-2000s. Harbaugh ran the Chargers through their first padded practice of training camp at Torero Stadium at the University of San Diego, a hilltop Jesuit school about five miles west of the site where they used to play. It was just the second time the Chargers have held a practice in San Diego County since 2017, when owner Dean Spanos moved them to Los Angeles after he was unable to get a stadium deal in San Diego. They held a walkthrough at Camp Pendleton in far northern San Diego County during minicamp in 2024. The Bolts haven't held a public event or practice here since their acrimonious split with the city they called home for 56 seasons. Tickets to Tuesday's practice were made available to active-duty military and veterans, and tickets to Wednesday's practice were available to season ticket holders. The 6,500-seat stadium appeared half full. A dozen or so fans watched from a public sidewalk overlooking the stadium. There were a lot of No. 10 Justin Herbert jerseys in the crowd, and also some from the San Diego days, including Philip Rivers — who quarterbacked the Chargers in both cities — LaDainian Tomlinson and Junior Seau. The Chargers were scheduled to hold a walkthrough on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on Tuesday evening. While some San Diegans still follow the Chargers, many remain bitter or have moved on from the NFL. Harbaugh said the idea to practice in San Diego 'came from the organization. I heard the idea and said, 'Heck yeah, let's do it and a suggestion, if I might, let's do it at USD.' This is about as good as it gets.' Harbaugh was asked if having practices here was the sign of the team extending an olive branch to San Diego, where he still owns a home. 'I don't know anything about that. I never once heard the olive branch analogy used,' he said. 'We love our fans. We love our LA fans, we love San Diego fans, Santa Barbara, Fresno. We just want to go to our fans, wherever they might be. Stockton. I want to go to Stockton. Just all those that come to see us, we want to go to them whenever we can.' Harbaugh played for the Chargers in 1999, when he replaced injured quarterback Ryan Leaf, and in 2000, when he started five games during a 1-15 season. He said he often visited USD for basketball and baseball games and befriended Monsignor Daniel Dillabough. 'One basketball game I asked him if we could go look at the football field,' Harbaugh said. 'I stood on the top of the hill and said, 'This is incredible. Someday, when I get done playing, I'm going to go into coaching, and it would be incredible if this is where I coached.'' He was quarterbacks coach of the Oakland Raiders when the USD job opened in 2004. 'I saw they had an opening for head coach and called Monsignor Dillabough and said, 'Remember what I said about five years ago?' And he said, 'I was hoping you would call.'' He coached at USD for three seasons, going 29-6 overall. 'It was my first head coaching opportunity, and the thing I've asked Monsignor before, 'What did you see in me to make you think I'd be a good head football coach?' I'd still like to know. He hasn't told me that.' Harbaugh said he wanted to get the blessing of Al Davis, who asked, ''Why would you do that? I thought you wanted to be a pro coach.' I said, 'Mr. Davis, I really want to emulate your career. I know you started as a college coach and I want to take the same path.' And he said, 'Yeah, but that was USC, not USD.' That's a fond memory for me.' Harbaugh went on to coach at Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers and Michigan. He led the Wolverines to the national championship to cap the scandal-plagued 2023 season. He was hired by the Chargers and led them to an 11-6 record last season before they lost to Houston in the wild-card round. He said being back at USD was 'incredible. As the buses came through, the little hairs on my arm were standing up.' Harbaugh praised Rivers, who on Monday announced in a video that he was retiring as a Charger. The quarterback played 16 seasons for the Chargers and last played for Indianapolis in 2020. 'Nothing but the highest respect for Philip Rivers,' Harbaugh said. 'He was so good and I just appreciate him in every way. The thing that always stands out to me is coaching against Philip, when the 49ers played the Chargers, his enthusiasm for the game is right there with Derwin James. 'His ability to talk, during the play, sometimes he was directing it at the players, one time he directed it over at me,' Harbaugh said. 'Really, I guess, talk smack, as the young people say, and to do it without swearing is just another level of eliteness. Tremendous competitor. Everyone in the organization has love and appreciation for Philip Rivers. We're excited he's going to retire as a Charger.' ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
One Of NFL's All-Time Passers Finally Retires ... Again?
Quarterback Philip Rivers announced Monday he was retiring as a Charger in perhaps a bit of unfinished business. (Watch his farewell video below.) Rivers, who's sixth all-time in NFL passing yards (63,440) and touchdown passes (421), hasn't played since the 2020 season. He seemed to declare his retirement in January 2021 after he played one season with the Indianapolis Colts ― but who's to stand in the way of a man wanting to formalize his exit with the team on which he became famous? Rivers was a Charger ― in San Diego and Los Angeles ― for 16 seasons, leading the team to the 2008 AFC Championship game before bowing to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Rivers famously played with a torn ACL in that one. Rivers never played in a Super Bowl, but he racked up super stats in his career. He won 137 career games ― 10th all time and second among quarterbacks who never won a Super Bowl, ESPN reported. He also was an eight-time Pro-Bowler. 'I'm Philip Rivers, quarterback, and I'm retiring a Charger,' he began in a farewell highlight video the team posted Monday. 'I think gratitude, really, is the first thing that comes to mind,' he said. 'There were so many highlights and fun Sundays. So many. But what I miss and what I'm most appreciative and thankful for, are those relationships. The things that were behind the scenes. What you lived every day.' As for the scope of his time in pro football, a choked-up Rivers said, 'Goes fast.' Related... Phillies Celebrate An Absurd Once-In-Every-54-Years Walk-Off Victory Yikes: Karoline Leavitt Is Asked If Trump Is Serious About Blocking Commanders Stadium Deal Gabby Thomas Turns Surprise Drug-Tester Visit Into TikTok Gold
