January 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nRivers, 44, has no NFL coaching experience, but addressed the idea after the Colts\u2019 final regular-season game in early January. While he expressed confidence in his ability to coach at the NFL level, he seemed more motivated to return to coaching his son, Gunner, at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Ala.<\/p>\n
The school began the 2025 campaign 13-0 before losing in the state semifinals. Gunner Rivers is a consensus four-star quarterback and the No. 1-ranked player in Alabama for the 2027 class, per 247 Sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are all big \u2018what ifs,\u2019 but I do think, as humbly as I can say it, that I can coach at this level,\u201d the elder Rivers said at the time. \u201cI know enough about the game, about the guys from a leadership standpoint, camaraderie, all that comes with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to going back home and getting back with those guys, getting back with my family. Gunner\u2019s senior season is coming up, and we\u2019ve been to back-to-back semifinals, and hopefully we can get over the hump this year. So, I don\u2019t have any of those NFL things on my radar, but certainly nothing that I would shut down before it even became a possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to Rivers, the Bills also interviewed their offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, former New York Giants coach Brian Daboll, and Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo for the vacancy. Anthony Lynn, Anthony Weaver and Grant Udinski have also interviewed for the job.<\/p>\n
Rivers was drafted in 2004 and played with the Chargers until 2019 before joining the Colts in 2020. He retired after that seasaon, then returned five years later for three games after Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones went down with a season-ending Achilles tear.<\/p>\n
In his return, Rivers threw for 544 yards and four touchdowns against three interceptions before being benched ahead of the season finale in favor of rookie Riley Leonard. The eight-time Pro Bowler ranks sixth and eighth all-time in passing TDs (425) and passing yards (63,984). He is also the Chargers\u2019 all-time leader in both categories and was a semifinalist for the 2026 NFL Hall-of-Fame class. His brief return from retirement pushes his candidacy to 2031.<\/p>\n