Philip

Rivers

Less than 24 hours ago, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the interest between Rivers was “real” and “not a joke.” Now, Rivers is officially out of the search, removing himself from consideration after his first interview. This shouldn’t be an indictment on Rivers or the Bills, but it’s clear he wasn’t ready to move into full-time head-coaching duties just yet. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo notes that a head coaching gig could be in his future but added “now isn’t the right time for him and his family.”

Rivers, who has no professional head coaching experience, would seem to be a massive longshot to get this job on paper. But you never know. The 44-year-old did complete 63 percent of his passes for four touchdowns and three interceptions in three starts last year, our latest sign yet that anything is possible. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero told Rich Eisen that he “doesn’t get the sense” that we’ll wake up tomorrow and Rivers is the next head coach of the Bills.

Rivers is the current coach at St. Michael Catholic High School. The future Hall of Famer, who came out of retirement to try to keep the Colts in the playoff hunt this season, again retired after the Colts were eliminated, but has reportedly been researched by several teams as a head-coaching fit, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Rivers is reportedly close with Josh Allen, who is sitting in on head-coaching interviews with the team. Rivers does not have any experience as an NFL coach, and would join the ranks of former Colts interim head coach Jeff Saturday should be land the gig.

Rivers will be the third quarterback in his “final NFL game” with the Colts. Seth Hennigan will be Riley Leonard’s backup as the Colts evaluate their future options at quarterback against the Texans.

Rapoport added, “The current belief is that Rivers gets at least one opportunity to interview, possibly more.” Rivers coached high school football for five years at St. Michael Catholic in Alabama. His football IQ is also off the charts, as evidenced by his sudden return to the game this year. The Giants and Titans are currently the only teams in need of a new head coach, though more teams will be added to the list after Week 18. Rivers might need to find work beyond the high school ranks before teams are ready to hire him as the boss of an NFL team, but a future as a professional football coach would suit him well.

Rivers could still suit up as a backup one last time, but it appears as though his time in the NFL has finally come to a close. Kay Adams spoke with Rivers on Wednesday, pressing him on the matter. The 44-year-old quarterback reiterated that it is, indeed, time to hang up his cleats. In three games with the Colts, Rivers completed 58-of-92 passes for four touchdowns and three interceptions.

With their season over, the Colts will see what they have in Leonard, the 189th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. Leonard completed 18 of 29 attempts for 145 yards and an interception against the Jaguars in Week 14 after Daniel Jones went down — a performance that led head coach Shane Steichen to sign 44-year-old Philip Rivers as a desperation measure. Leonard completed 61 percent of his passes for 365 yards, one touchdown, and one interception over three preseason appearances in the summer. He took one sacks on 22 pressures in those games and ran for 58 yards on seven rushes. Leonard’s rushing could make him interesting for superflex and DFS purposes in Week 18 against the Texans.

Steichen said in his Monday press conference that the team was still “having discussions” on who will start the finale against Houston, and that the team would announce a decision Wednesday. It’s possible that 44-year-old Philip Rivers could get one more chance at a win, but the Colts may want to see what they have in the (much) younger Riley Leonard. Anthony Richardson could also potentially get the nod for the meaningless finale, but with the signal-caller still dealing with vision limitations, it seems unlikely.

Riley Leonard came on in relief of Rivers late in the game to throw a game-ending Hail Mary intercpetion that Rivers certainly would not have been able to come close to the end zone on, and looks likely (per Ian Rapaport) to start against the Texans in Week 18 now that the Colts are eliminated. Rivers got by on guts and drops did hurt the cause, but at the end of the day, the 44-year-old called out of retirement to try to save the season played like a 44-year-old called out of retirement to try to save the season. He couldn’t get enough oomph on his deeper passes, and with the score tied at 17, threw a floating pick (that was tipped) to the Jaguars to guarantee us a few more minutes of Phil Rivers Trailing In the Fourth Quarter Of A One Score Game. A sack in which he stepped up into his own lineman’s back and butt put the Colts in fourth-and-long with three minutes left, they went for it and never saw the ball again. If this is it — again — Rivers proved competent enough that it was earnestly amazing in his three starts. But it ends as we all thought it would against a gauntlet of playoff-caliber opponents.

Philip Rivers will start this week. The Colts were officially eliminated from the playoff hunt with Houston’s win over the Chargers on Saturday. While they would likely rather get Leonard some live reps now that their season is over, it doesn’t make sense to pivot this late in the week. It looks like Week 17 versus the Jags will be Rivers’ sendoff, with Leonard likely drawing the start for the Colts’ 2025 finale.