The Buffalo Bills coaching search is now a week underway, with the team bringing in some of the top NFL coaching candidates that are remaining. More interviews are scheduled this week, but it appears one option who has already met with the team has a real shot at becoming the next Bills head coach.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that former quarterback Philip Rivers is a “real” candidate in the Bills coaching search and the organization is giving serious consideration to him as the replacement for Sean McDermott next season.
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As noted by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, interest in Rivers as a head coach picked up after December from his stint as the Indianapolis Colts quarterback. He is also being considered in Buffalo, per Breer, because of his relationship with quarterback Josh Allen, whom he helped prepare for the 2018 NFL Draft. The Bills have already stated that Allen will have input in their search for a new head coach.
This isn’t the first time an NFL franchise has had interest in making a former quarterback their head coach despite him not having any experience. The Houston Texans organization was enamored by Josh McCown in 2022 and he seemed to be a finalist to become the team’s next head coach despite his inexperience. He’s served as a quarterbacks coach now for the last three seasons with the Carolina Panthers (2023) and Minnesota Vikings (2024-25), working his way up the coaching ladder.
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Rivers, 44, has only coached for St. Michael Catholic High School since 2021. While he certainly has some connections around the league for assistant coaches, it pales in comparison to the network NFL coaches have after bouncing around the league and working their way up the proverbial ladder.
Buffalo would be taking a massive risk on Rivers, and it would seem to be an even bigger gamble given Allen might be in the final years of his peak before all the hits on him start to take a toll on his ability to run the football and stay healthy. Given that, it seems more likely that an experienced coach is brought in to become the head coach and Rivers is added to the Bills coaching staff as a quarterbacks coach.
