FAIRHOPE, Alabama (LifeSiteNews) — Retired NFL quarterback Philip Rivers and his wife are expecting their 10th child this fall.
This month, the devoted Catholic announced that he, wife Tiffany and their nine children will welcome a baby boy in October.
“We’ve had one pretty much every two years and now this is the longest gap,” Rivers told Al.com. “We are all fired up. Everyone was pulling for a boy. Even our girls wanted a boy.”
Rivers, 41, retired from pro football in 2021 after 17 seasons and is now a high school football coach at St. Michael Catholic School in Fairhope, Alabama.
In 16 years with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers in 2004 and one final season with the Indianapolis Colts in 2020, Rivers was named to the Pro Bowl eight times. He ranks sixth in NFL history in passing yards with 63,440 and touchdown passes with 421.
As a Catholic couple, Rivers and his wife did not put a number on how many children they would welcome into their family. Instead, they left the decision up to God.
Rivers said both his parents come from families of nine children. “We thought we would be the third generation of nine, but we decided to go double digits – or I should say we didn’t decide it. God decided,” he said.
Rivers’ other children range in age from 4 to 21, with seven girls and two boys: Halle, Caroline, Grace, Sarah, Rebecca, Clare, Anna, Gunner, and Peter.
His oldest son, Gunner, is set to be the starting quarterback for St. Michael this season as a freshman.
In an earlier interview with USA Today, the couple revealed that they are raising their children to know, love and serve God and their neighbor.
Rivers revealed that the family has yet to choose a name for their new son.
“We are still kind of figuring that out,” he said. “We have plenty of opinions. That is what we’ve got right now.”
He added that his entire family was “excited and ultimately just thankful” to welcome another child.
“I think what tells the story for us is the reaction of the other children and how excited they are,” he said. “They are fired up.”