Philip Rivers has finally opened up about the Buffalo Bills interview that turned heads last winter, and the story behind it is every bit as unusual as it sounded at the time.
The Bills reached out to Rivers’ agent, Jimmy Sexton, about bringing the former quarterback in for their head coaching search, even though Rivers had no NFL coaching background to lean on. At the time, he had recently come out of retirement to play for the Indianapolis Colts in relief of the injured Daniel Jones, and his return only reinforced the reputation he had built as a sharp football mind. He had also spent the previous several seasons coaching his son’s team in Alabama, but that still didn’t amount to pro coaching experience.
Rivers discussed the interview for the first time on Daniel Jeremiah’s “Move the Sticks” podcast, and he described just how quickly the whole thing came together.
"[Sexton] said, 'Hey, the Bills want you to come Friday, down to Mr. Pegula's place, and interview for the head job,'" Rivers said.
"This was on Wednesday. I was like, 'Holy smokes, Jimmy,' and he said, 'Yeah, you don't have to tell me right now, but let's talk in the morning.'"
For Rivers, it was his first NFL head coaching interview, and the setting made the moment feel even bigger. He said the room was loaded with decision-makers, including ownership, the general manager, assistant general managers, Josh Allen and Brandon Beane. The presentation side of it was different from what most coaching candidates would bring to a meeting like that, too.
"It was a big boardroom and somewhat intimidating," he said. "It's like ownership, the GM, assistant GMs.
Josh Allen was in there. He was obviously in every interview.
Brandon Beane, and they go, and the TV was behind me. They said, 'Hey, do you have any audio-video stuff you need to hook up for the interview?'
I laid my notebook down and said it's all right here guys. I don't have the book to go through like these other guys do."
Rivers said he tried to sell the idea that years as a starting quarterback had already given him a kind of head coach’s perspective, and that it helped him connect with Allen. He also made clear that any real run at the job would have required a strong staff around him. Even so, he felt prepared in the moment.
In the end, the whole thing was always a long shot. But Rivers said he appreciated getting the chance to sit down and go through the process anyway.
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