The Buffalo Bills' offseason is only a week old, but it's already been a memorable journey filled with unexpected turns. On Friday, the Bills decided they hadn't taken things far enough and amped up the "crazy" in their coaching search.
It's also surprising that the Bills are even searching for a new head coach. Sean McDermott was shown the door after a divisional-round loss to the Denver Broncos in overtime (on the road), a head coach left out in the cold despite an average of 11 wins per season. After nearly a decade, the franchise decided a fresh start was needed to capitalize on Josh Allen's presence under center, following years of watching the Kansas City Chiefs (for the most part) summit the AFC.
The search for McDermott's replacement is going to be an interesting one, given the choices so far. On Friday, the Bills added veteran quarterback Philip Rivers to the list of candidates.
That last sentence likely required a double-take for anyone taking in that information for the first time. Rivers, as a candidate serious enough to merit an interview, is quite the wild card, which only falls in line with the quarterback's overall season after being brought back to take over under center for the Indianapolis Colts in the midst of a postseason run. Rivers hadn't played a single snap since 2020, but he started three games for Indy to close the year. They lost all three.
Now the Bills want to further the absurdity of Rivers' year by making him an NFL head coaching candidate. Nevermind that his coaching experience comes at the high school level only. Of course, Rivers deserves the credibility of having played 17-plus seasons of quarterback at a very high level. There's no denying that he'd bring plenty to the table for any organization, but to catapult him to head coach feels pretty wacky.
Buffalo's leadership is unraveling just one week into the offseason after yet another early postseason loss.
The Bills might be given some benefit of the doubt on this announcement, except the last week has made the organization's leaders look unhinged. Following the firing of McDermott, Bills owner Terry Pegula actually gave a promotion to Brandon Beane from general manager to president of operations. Then, they collectively threw second-year receiver Keon Coleman under the bus for no good reason at all in a press conference.
Basically, the Bills lost early in the postseason again in 2025 and have come unglued in the aftermath. Josh Allen and company had the clearest path to a Super Bowl in years without Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs sitting at home (as was Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens) and yet the AFC Championship will feature Jarrett Stidham versus Drake Maye. Frustration makes sense, but self-destruction is the name of the game in Buffalo.
There's a big difference between interviewing Rivers and hiring Rivers, so perhaps the exploration of an idea is not self-destructive—at least not yet. There are also understandable candidates in line for the job, from Mike McDaniel to Joe Brady to Anthony Weaver. But the Bills' brass has already shown their inability to hold it together in the last week, and their desperation to chase the Chiefs and other AFC contenders is putting them in a very awkward place early in the offseason.