The Buffalo Bills are making headlines-and raising eyebrows-with their latest head coaching interview. According to reports, the team sat down with none other than Philip Rivers, the longtime NFL quarterback and current high school coach, as part of their search to replace Sean McDermott.
Yes, that Philip Rivers. The former Chargers and Colts QB who spent this past season coaching at St.
Michael Catholic High School in Alabama. While Rivers is widely respected for his football IQ and leadership during his playing days, this move by the Bills is catching plenty of people off guard-especially considering the stakes in Buffalo right now.
Let’s set the scene: Sean McDermott is out after a rollercoaster season that ended in playoff disappointment. Despite leading the Bills to consistent postseason appearances and helping develop Josh Allen into one of the league’s top quarterbacks, McDermott’s exit came amid questions about internal decision-making-including the controversial drafting of Keon Coleman and Allen’s turnover-prone finish to the year.
Now, in the wake of that shake-up, the Bills are casting a wide net. But bringing in Rivers for a head coaching interview?
That’s a bold swing. Rivers has zero NFL coaching experience and hasn’t even stepped into the college ranks.
His coaching resume begins and ends at the high school level. This isn’t a knock on high school coaches-there’s no shortage of football minds at that level-but jumping straight from Friday night lights to an NFL head job is virtually unheard of.
So what’s the play here for Buffalo?
One possibility is that they’re not seriously considering Rivers as the next head coach, but rather exploring whether he could be a fit on a future staff-perhaps as a quarterbacks coach or offensive assistant. Rivers has always been known as a cerebral player, a guy who lived in the film room and commanded respect in the huddle. Maybe the Bills see value in that kind of presence in the building, especially as they look to recalibrate around Allen.
But if this is a legitimate head coaching interview, it’s hard not to question the direction. The Bills are still in their championship window with a franchise quarterback in place.
This is a team that’s been knocking on the Super Bowl door for years. Bringing in a coach with no professional experience, at a moment when continuity and leadership are paramount, feels like a head-scratcher.
Meanwhile, Dolphins fans are watching all of this unfold with a mix of amusement and disbelief. Miami has had its own share of coaching missteps over the years, but right now, the chaos seems to be brewing further north.
Bills fans, for their part, are still reeling from McDermott’s departure. A petition to bring him back has reportedly gathered thousands of signatures, which tells you just how divided the fanbase is over the current direction.
And while the Dolphins are dealing with their own issues-namely a tight salary cap and questions about Tua Tagovailoa’s long-term ceiling-they’re at least not interviewing high school coaches for the top job. The Jets are, well, still the Jets, and the Patriots suddenly look like the most stable team in the AFC East. That’s a sentence we haven’t said in a while.
The Bills still have time to right the ship, and this could all be part of a broader, more creative search process. But if Rivers is truly in the mix to lead a team that believes it’s built to win now, then Buffalo may be taking a gamble that’s more puzzling than promising.