For the last week, the Buffalo Bills have been interviewing head coaching candidates after making the decision to move on from Sean McDermott. They have interviewed 7 different candidates, including former Chargers and Colts quarterback, Philip Rivers. Adam Schefter reported on Friday that Rivers was interviewing with the Bills.
This setup came out of nowhere and one expected Rivers to become a possible candidate, and he truly was a serious contender. However, he is no longer part of the process.
According to Dianna Russini, Rivers is withdrawing from the process and is no longer a candidate to become the next head coach of the Bills.
Philip Rivers is out of the Bills HC sweepstakes. After interviewing with Buffalo, he’s withdrawing himself from consideration, per sources. pic.twitter.com/2RhouF270c
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 26, 2026
Philip Rivers withdraws from Bills' HC search (and it's best for both sides)
Let’s face it, if the Bills were to move on from McDermott and bring in someone who has never coached at the NFL or college level, there would be a ton of negative reactions and Buffalo would look extremely foolish.
The Bills are still in a Super Bowl window as long as Josh Allen is in his prime. Whether they want to go with offense, defense, or bring in someone who has a ton of leadership, the matter of the fact is that this team needs to bring in someone who has either been a head coach or has climbed their way up to the top and is looking to show what they can bring for the future.
This was a fun little journey since Friday because up until this morning, Rivers did have a great chance at potentially becoming the next head coach in Buffalo. However, we all know that the Bills need to be serious about this hiring. They are no longer the best team in the AFC East, seeing as how the New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl.
This hiring for their next head coach is extremely crucial for them. According to Jordan Schultz, the expectation is that the Bills will reach out to Davis Webb, who is currently the Broncos’ quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator about the vacancy. Buffalo can officially talk with Webb as Denver was eliminated from the playoffs yesterday.