The Buffalo Bills are intent on leaving no stone unturned in their search for a new head coach, now reportedly meeting with Philip Rivers on Friday about the opening, per ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
Having originally retired at the end of the 2020 NFL season, Rivers returned to the NFL late in the 2025 NFL season to help guide an Indianapolis Colts team that lost quarterback Daniel Jones to a season-ending Achilles injury.
Rivers, 44, again retired after this past season, heading back to coach the St. Michael Catholic High School football team, where he was working prior to the brief return to action.
Sean McDermott’s dismissal after nine seasons at the helm and following the team’s latest playoff loss. Rivers has no experience coaching at the NFL or collegiate levels, but many point to his proficiency as a field general both pre- and post-snap. He played a total of 18 seasons in the NFL, which included 16 for the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, and two with the Colts.
Rivers’ interview is noteworthy for several reasons, the most significant being his lack of prior college or professional coaching experience. The last person to swim in similar head-coaching waters was Jeff Saturday, who held the title as interim head coach with the Indianapolis Colts during the 2022 NFL season.
Per Adam Schefter, Norm Van Brocklin (1961) was the last person to be hired as a full-time NFL head coach without any prior college or pro experience. These are uncharted waters for the Bills, but don’t discount Rivers’ potential as an offensive mind who, per Daniel Jeremiah, “was basically the OC for at least a decade of his career.” As Jeremiah points out, key for Rivers would be to “surround himself with an outstanding staff.”
