| So like most people on the internet and the hellscape of Twitter, I saw the news that Philip Rivers interviewed for the Bills’ HC opening. Because you fire the coach that kept losing in the playoffs to hire the QB that kept losing in the playoffs. But in all seriousness, I would be shocked if he gets an HC offer. Unless the Browns run out of candidates that want to interview with them. However, that is not to say that he can’t provide any value to a coaching staff. And for the Buccaneers, he could actually be QB coach. Apparently I’m not the only one who has that thought as now there is some noise the Bills may have him as QB coach.
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| Philip Rivers very obviously brings plenty of QB experience. He played 17 years in the NFL, retired, and then played one more season five years later. While he obviously wasn’t as good as he was in 2020 on the Colts, he did at least demonstrate he could still read defenses. At least, there didn’t seem to be that noticeable of a drop off from when he last played. Rivers did always have a penchant for picks late though.
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Now, I am here to say I do not think this is enough to be qualified for HC, even if you include his experience coaching in HS. Scorching hot take I know. However, if he does want to eventually become a HC, he would be better off starting lower on the totem pole. QB coach seems like the most likely starting point for him. And he could offer plenty of help to Baker.
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| Baker the past two seasons had trouble with turnovers. Even in 2024 when he was lighting it up, it was more akin to Brett Favre than Aaron Rodgers. 2025 he definitely struggled late with throwing picks and fumbling. And even early in the season with him playing at near-MVP level, got away with quite a few interceptable passes. I know I just said Rivers wasn’t the most careful, but his 17 years of NFL experience has taught him plenty of defensive coverages.
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| From Rivers’ perspective, the Bucs have a proven ability of getting people other, higher jobs. We’ve had that with OCs obviously, but we’ve had that with defensive staff and other lesser offensive staff positions. He could very well be offensive coordinator for another team (or even the Bucs given the past few years). While he wouldn’t necessarily have the cachet of saving Baker like Canales did, he would at least be partially credited with helping Baker recover.
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| While the main reason I wrote this is because it would just be fun, I do genuinely think Rivers could provide value to a coaching staff. Not as an HC, at least not yet, but certainly a lesser offensive staff position. The Bucs have plenty of holes on their offensive staff, so if they’re high on Rivers, they could find room for him. |
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