The Moment
Philip Rivers, 44, is apparently not done surprising the NFL.
After a short, emotional comeback this season with the Indianapolis Colts, the longtime Chargers star is now reportedly interviewing for the Buffalo Bills’ vacant head coaching job. The interview is said to be happening today, with Rivers emerging as a real candidate despite his only coaching experience being at a small Catholic high school in Fairhope, Alabama.
Philip Rivers emerges as candidate for Bills head coach role
Philip Rivers is scheduled to interview for the Buffalo Bills head coaching vacancy, marking a potential rapid transition from quarterback to NFL sideline leader.
Rivers officially retired from the NFL a second time… pic.twitter.com/Hj0IgH1Oio
— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) January 23, 2026
The Bills, who just fired longtime head coach Sean McDermott days after a crushing overtime playoff loss to the Denver Broncos, are in full reset mode. And in a twist no one had on their 2026 bingo card, the man they’re talking to is the NFL’s self-styled “grandfather quarterback” who was out of the league for five years before his three-game Colts cameo.
The Take
I’ll be honest: this feels like someone hit the “randomize franchise mode” button on Madden.
On one hand, Rivers as an NFL head coach makes emotional sense. He’s that ultra-competitive, fiery sideline presence we all watched for 17 seasons. He reads defenses like a second language, won eight Pro Bowls, dragged some pretty average rosters into contention, and has the wholesome-dad energy of a man with 10 kids and a minivan full of snack bags.
On the other hand… he’s gone straight from high school head coach to interviewing for one of the most high-pressure jobs in the league. No NFL coordinator years. No assistant gigs. Not even college. If the Bills actually hire him, it would be like promoting the nicest, most respected PTA president directly to governor. Great leader? Probably. But that’s a very steep learning curve.
We’ve seen pieces of this movie before. When the Colts plucked Jeff Saturday out of the TV studio and handed him the interim head coaching job, it was pure vibes over resume – and the results were, let’s just say, mixed. Rivers at least has been on a real sideline recently, molding teenagers at St. Michael Catholic and clearly loving it, tearing up publicly about inspiring “his kids” and the kids he coaches.
The twist here is the reported role of Bills star quarterback Josh Allen. Rivers is said to be close with Allen, who’s reportedly sitting in on coaching interviews with general manager Brandon Beane. Quarterback influence on coaching hires isn’t new, but it does raise an eyebrow when the candidate is a fellow QB he admires. Are we hiring a coach, or building the world’s most intense quarterback book club?
I don’t hate the idea of Rivers on an NFL sideline with a headset. I do question skipping every rung of the ladder. Being a brilliant quarterback is like being a star surgeon; being a head coach is like running the entire hospital. Different skill set. Different kind of pressure.
If the Bills truly want Rivers, they’d better be ready to surround him with battle-tested coordinators and a front office that can say “no” when the nostalgia gets too loud. Otherwise, this is less genius move and more very expensive experiment with Josh Allen’s prime years.
Receipts
Confirmed
- Rivers, 44, came out of retirement this season and played three games for the Indianapolis Colts after being out of the league for five years, then returned to his job coaching high school football at St. Michael Catholic in Fairhope, Alabama, according to January 23, 2026 sports coverage.
- The Buffalo Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott days after an overtime playoff loss to the Denver Broncos, as reflected in team statements and widely reported this week.
- Rivers and his wife Tiffany have 10 children; he has spoken publicly about wanting to inspire both his own kids and the players he coaches during emotional podium moments this season.
- League records show Rivers was an eight-time Pro Bowler, the 2013 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, and the fourth overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. He was drafted by the New York Giants and traded to the then-San Diego Chargers, later moving with the team to Los Angeles before signing a one-year deal with the Colts in 2020. He announced his retirement in January 2021.
Unverified / Reported
- Rivers is set to interview for the Buffalo Bills’ head coaching job today. This has been reported by NFL insider Adam Schefter in a January 23, 2026 post on X and summarized in multiple sports outlets; the Bills have not publicly confirmed the interview at the time of writing.
- Rivers is described as a “legitimate option” in the Bills’ coaching search, despite only coaching at the high school level so far. That framing comes from anonymous-sourced reporting, not an on-the-record statement from the team.
- Rivers is said to be close with Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who is reportedly sitting in on head coach interviews with general manager Brandon Beane. The team has not officially detailed who is present in those meetings.
Sources: Adam Schefter on X (January 23, 2026); multiple U.S. sports news reports on January 23, 2026 about the Bills’ coaching search and Rivers’ interview; publicly available NFL career records for Philip Rivers.
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If you lost track of Rivers after his bolo-tie Chargers days, here’s the quick refresher: he spent 17 seasons in the NFL, mostly as the fiery, trash-talking but oddly wholesome face of the Chargers offense. In 2020 he did a one-year stint with the Colts, retired in January 2021, and slid happily into life as a high school football coach at St. Michael Catholic. This season, in a feel-good twist, he came out of retirement after five years away to suit up for the Colts again for three games. The team lost all three, but he played well enough to earn the “grandfather quarterback” nickname and got visibly emotional talking about what it meant to show his kids – and his players – that you can chase a dream twice.
What’s Next
In the short term, all eyes are on Buffalo’s coaching search. If the Bills confirm Rivers’ interview and decide to move forward with a second meeting, that will signal they’re serious about the idea of a high school-to-NFL leap.
If they hire another, more traditional candidate, the Rivers interview becomes a fun trivia question and a reminder that owners and general managers are at least thinking outside the box. If they actually hand him the job, buckle up. The next big stories will be who he hires as offensive and defensive coordinators, how he meshes with Josh Allen in a coach-quarterback dynamic instead of a peer relationship, and how much patience the front office has if there’s a rough first season.
Either way, Rivers has already pulled off something most ex-players never do: he turned a short comeback and a small-town coaching gig into a seat at the table for one of the biggest jobs in American sports.
So, if you were running the Bills, would you roll the dice on Philip Rivers as your head coach, or insist he pay a few more dues on the NFL ladder first?
Comments