The Chargers moved to Los Angeles this offseason, but their quarterback still lives in San Diego.
Philip Rivers did not want to uproot his family, which includes eight children, and decided he would commute to and from the team’s new facility in Costa Mesa. The original plan was to split the driving with backup quarterback Kellen Clemens, but a few test runs showed they’d be “wasting three hours” every day because they weren’t able to work while driving and Rivers didn’t want people wondering if he’ll struggle due to the commute.
That won’t be a problem any longer. Rivers has hired a driver and customized an SUV with a 40 inch screen, wifi and a satellite dish so that he and Clemens can watch film throughout their drive.
“My two biggest things were my family time and my preparation and what I owe this football team,” Rivers said, via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I was not going to sacrifice either of them in any big proportion. I can look at all the pluses and minuses and say, ‘OK. This does it.’ This allows me to get home in the 6 to 7 hour, which is when I got home the last 11 years, and it allows me to watch all or more of the film I watched before.”
Rivers said the result is the “best QB room I’ve ever been in” and joked that he might hope for traffic some days so that they can get in more work before arriving home. Rooting for traffic would be a first, but there’s no shortage of uncharted territory for the Chargers this season.