Ex-Broncos QB Russell Wilson Interviewed for FBS Head Coaching Job

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson could be headed for a major career shift less than one year after the end of his NFL career.

“Former Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson interviewed Tuesday for the head coaching job at NC State, ” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on Tuesday night. “Wilson, 38, joins Philip Rivers as former NC State and NFL quarterbacks who are now prominent candidates for the Wolfpack job. NC State fired Dave Doeren as head coach on Oct. 24. Wilson played at NC State from 2008 to 2010 before transferring to Wisconsin in 2011. After being taken by Seattle in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft, he went on to play 14 seasons in the NFL, leading the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl championship in the 2013 season.”

Wilson, a 10-time NFL All-Pro, retired in June and has been working for CBS Sports as an analyst this fall.

“Interesting that Russell Wilson and Philip Rivers are contenders,” NFL reporter Ed Werder wrote on his official X account on Tuesday. 

Wilson spent his first 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, where he won one Super Bowl and played in another before a blockbuster trade to the Broncos before the 2022 season. He lasted 2 seasons in Denver before spending one season each with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants.

Broncos’ Wilson Trade One of NFL’s All-Time Worst

Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox called the Broncos’ trade with the Seahawks for Wilson “Worst NFL Trade of the Last 10 Years” for the franchise.

By releasing Wilson in April 2024, the Broncos were forced to take an NFL-record $85 million dead cap hit spread across the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

“The Denver Broncos’ ill-fated 2022 trade for Russell Wilson has largely been overshadowed by the disastrous deal Cleveland made for Deshaun Watson in the same offseason,” Knox wrote. “However, that doesn’t mean that Denver’s deal was a good one. In fact, the Wilson trade might be considered the worst of the last decade if not for the Watson debacle. The Broncos coughed up two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris and tight end Noah Fant to acquire Wilson and a fourth-round pick. The Broncos then signed Wilson to an extension worth $242.6 million over five years with $161 million guaranteed.”

Russell Wilson, Sean Payton Butted Heads in 2023

The writing was on the wall for Wilson once Nathaniel Hackett was fired after one season as Denver’s head coach in 2022 and replaced with former New Orleans Saints head coach and Super Bowl champion Sean Payton.

Wilson and Payton famously butted heads, but the bottom line was that Wilson went 11-19 over 2 seasons in Denver before he was released.

Wilson rejuvenated his career somewhat in 2024 with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a 1-year, $1.2 million contract.

After missing the first 6 games of the season due to injury — Justin Fields started in his place — Wilson returned to go 6-5 for the Steelers, who made the AFC Playoffs before losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wild Card Round, with Wilson going 20-of-29 passing for 270 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

Wilson signed a 1-year, $10.5 million contract with the New York Giants on March 27 — just one month before they selected Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.

This article was originally published on HEAVY