"He has lot more kids than me too": Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon takes sly jab at Philip Rivers' age as QB comes out of retirement at 44

Philip Rivers made an unlikely return to the NFL this week at the age of 44. The quarterback was signed by the Indianapolis Colts to their practice squad following the season-ending injury to starter Daniel Jones. It is believed that he has a chance of starting for the team.

On Wednesday, Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon answered a few questions about Rivers in his media availability. Donnie Druin of Sports Illustrated asked the coach, who is two years younger than Rivers, his thoughts on the veteran quarterback’s return.

“Yeah, he is [two years older],” Gannon said. A lot more kids than me, too. If anybody can do it, it's him, I'd say that."

Gannon’s hilarious response to Druin’s question got the entire room into laughter during the press conference. The coach had some working relationship with Philip Rivers, as he was the defensive coordinator in the quarterback’s final season with the Colts in 2020.

Aside from being the oldest quarterback in the NFL, Rivers returns to the league at an age that makes him older than a significant number of head coaches. Including Gannon, he's currently older than 13 of them, and probably more kids than all 32, after welcoming his 10th child in 2023.

Philip Rivers says he's not coming to save the day

The Indianapolis Colts were considered a Super Bowl contender during the first half of the season. However, they've slowed down in the second half, losing four of their last five games. Nonetheless, Philip Rivers doesn't see himself coming to save the day for the team.

“I'm not here to stinking save the year or be a hero by any means,” Rivers said. “We got to stinking run the crap out of the football and play defense and do all those things. So if that comes to be, and I'm the one that's out there, I'm not here to try to save the day.

“I'm going to know where I'm limited. And as we go, it will get better, if that's the route we end up going. I ain't never ran away from anybody anyway. People say, ‘Well, they're going to know you're going to be right there.’ And it's like, ‘Well, they knew that for 16, 17 years.’”

Philip Rivers had a career that spanned 17 seasons in the NFL before retiring in 2020. He spent the first 16 seasons with the Chargers and the final one with the Colts. His close relationship with Shane Steichen facilitated the unexpected return amid the injury crisis in the Colts quarterback room.