When Bills owner Terry Pegula said Wednesday that quarterback Josh Allen “will be part of the team to help select a new coach” and is “going to be working with us,” Pegula meant it.
Per multiple reports, the 2024 NFL MVP is sitting in on the interviews for the team’s next head coach.
It makes sense to involve Allen. Teams expect the franchise quarterback to be an extension of management. They deserve a seat at the table.
But they can’t run the show. Good coaches push their players to get the most out of their skills. A certain amount of tension is required. If the coach and quarterback are buddies, the player’s (and the team’s) best interests may not be served.
Still, it’s no secret that this move is all about getting the most out of the remaining years of Allen’s prime. He turns 30 on May 21. How many more chances do Allen and the Bills realistically have before his abilities begin to yield to Father Time?
They need to get this hire right. And they need to strike the right balance between giving Allen a voice and potentially ignoring his final opinion.
Philip Rivers showed he still has command of an NFL offense when he came out of retirement to play three games for the Colts in December.
Could he be in line to take over a team?
The Bills are at least interested in the possibility, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Rivers is interviewing for the club’s head coaching vacancy on Friday.
Rivers, 44, has been the head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama since retiring after the 2020 NFL season. He has led the team to two state semifinal appearances during his tenure.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Josh Allen and Rivers have a strong relationship, which is part of what has Buffalo interested in Rivers as a candidate. The Bills are reportedly involving Allen in the search for Sean McDermott’s replacement, which makes sense given Allen’s status as one of the league’s top quarterbacks.
By interviewing Rivers now, the Bills could also consider the former quarterback as a potential offensive coordinator option if the club hires a head coach with a defensive background.
Rivers would be a particularly out-of-the-box hire. But after what he displayed in three games this season — albeit losses — the interest in him as a candidate is not as far-fetched as it might have been.
The list of teams still looking for new head coaches is growing shorter and two clubs still on it will be speaking to Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver over the next couple of days.
Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com reports that Weaver is having an in-person interview with the Steelers on Friday. It is Weaver’s second interview with the AFC North team.
Per multiple reports, Weaver will then move on to an interview with the Bills on Saturday. It will be his first meeting with Buffalo.
The Steelers could stop that meeting from happening if they decide that Weaver is their choice for the job, although that would mean passing on the chance to meet with Rams assistants Nate Scheelhaase and Chris Shula a second time. Both coaches are barred from interviewing until after the Rams play in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
Mike McDaniel is slated to be the Chargers’ offensive coordinator during the 2026 season, but the Chargers would have to look elsewhere if McDaniel lands a head coaching job.
That remains a possibility as Albert Breer of SI.com reports that McDaniel will interview with the Bills for their vacancy on Friday. The Bills have conducted three other interviews since firing Sean McDermott earlier this week.
McDaniel has also interviewed with the Falcons, Ravens, Browns, Raiders and Titans this month. He withdrew from consideration for the Browns job and all but the Raiders have filled their openings already.
If the Bills do the same by hiring someone other than McDaniel, he’ll likely be calling plays for Justin Herbert come the fall. If he winds up landing the Bills job, he’ll be doing the same for Josh Allen and facing his former Dolphins team twice a season.
Wednesday’s memorable (and not for good reasons) joint press conference by Bills owner Terry Pegula and G.M. Brandon Beane had plenty of noteworthy moments. We’ve been focusing on as many of them as we can, one at a time.
Here’s one that represents a fairly sticky subject for Beane, even if it’s one of the biggest questions emerging from Monday’s announcement that Pegula, in one fell swoop, had fired coach Sean McDermott and promoted Beane.
Beane was specifically asked about the perception among fans that “this was some kind of power play.”
“As Terry said, there’s disagreements all throughout — way before this year,” Beane said. “It’s not like we were a hundred percent always in agreement on every decision that he made or I made. That just comes with the territory, and I wouldn’t expect that [to be any different] with the next head coach. There’s certain things that fall in his area, whether it’s managing a game, how we schemed a game — whatever it is that are his — and then there’s certain decisions that are personnel related, somebody’s got to make the final call.”
Pegula then interrupted.
“Can I help you about the ‘power play’ part of that?” Pegula said. “I’m the kind of guy, if I sense you’re on a power play, you’re out. I don’t like ‘power play’ people. We have an organization that’s we work together, but any sense at all that he was on a power play, he would have been gone. Because that’s not my kind of person.”
Beane then became indignant about the mere suggestion of a power play.
“That’s hurtful to even hear that or say that, like, I worked 19 seasons, starting as an intern in Carolina, and worked my way up,” Beane said. “I came here, and I’ve never tried to do that. I would love for anyone who’s making that accusation to walk in these doors and ask any person — player, coach, trainer, anyone — like, people can disagree with draft picks that I make or people I sign, or I screwed up the wide receivers, whatever it is, like, those are harmful, harmful things that, you know, I walk in the door, and my wife’s got tears coming down her face for stuff like that. And I’m gonna damn try hard to win a Super Bowl here. I am. But for somebody to question my character like that is BS. And I’ve never done that.
“If you’ll remember, in 2023, there was an article written on Sean, accusing things. Who stood up in front of every one of you guys and defended him and his family, and everything he’s done here? And then we went to Kansas City, and we won that game. And I went down [and] said, ‘Give me a game ball. I’m gonna show everyone that this team has his back.’ I’ve done nothing but have everyone’s back. And so for someone to question my character, my integrity, that’s where I draw the line.”
But it’s not really a question of character or integrity. It’s inherent to any situation in which, when things don’t work out, ownership may have to choose between coach or G.M. By creating an environment in which half measures are possible, the coach and the G.M. will naturally try to position themselves so that they’re in the half that isn’t sent packing.
In this regard, the G.M. has a much better chance of saving his job. The G.M., not the coach, is with the owner during games. It’s easy, and arguably natural, to make stray comments about the coach’s in-game decisions that could make the owner more likely to align with the G.M. over the coach, if the owner opts not to clean house.
It’s not really a power play, per se. It’s the direct product of a structure that entails a boss who eventually will decide where the pink slips should go. There’s a certain amount of self-preservation that comes into play, especially since the head coach is far more likely to get a second chance than the G.M. For most NFL General Managers, there’s often only one shot.
So if the owner is trying to decide who isn’t doing their job well enough, is the coach or the G.M. going to stand up and say, “It’s me”? Too much is riding on those jobs. And if the owner creates an environment where it’s possible for one to go and one to stay (and get promoted), who’s not going to shoot his shot when the shit hits the fan?
Whatever label is used, the outcome in Buffalo happened because Pegula was willing to entertain a half measure in lieu of firing both G.M. and coach and starting over. When the time came to make that decision, there’s no way McDermott or Beane (or anyone in that situation) is going to take the fall in order to save the other guy’s job.
