After his shocking return to the NFL late in the 2025 season, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers flirted with the idea of pursuing a head coaching position. He interviewed with the Buffalo Bills for their top spot before ultimately withdrawing his name and returning to St. Michael Catholic. However, he did not rule out one day seeking a coaching position in the NFL.
If he ever does get serious about pursuing such a job, count Colts’ running back Jonathan Taylor as a very strong reference. Taylor was recently asked his opinion of Rivers’ ability to lead an NFL team by FanSided while Taylor was doing a promotion for Sleep Number, and he was definitive.
“I think Philip would be a great head coach,” the Colts star offered. “I think he understands the game from such a high level that anybody who has him on their coaching staff would really take their team to the next level.”
Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor gives a ringing endorsement of Philip Rivers as a future head coach
Taylor might be a little biased. Rivers was his quarterback during Taylor’s sensational rookie year, when he ran for over a thousand yards, and Indianapolis posted an 11-5 record. That was the last time the Colts were in the NFL playoffs.
They appeared to be headed to the postseason this year before falling apart in the second half. One of the biggest blows came when starting QB Daniel Jones tore his Achilles in Week 14.
With backup Anthony Richardson also hurt and rookie Riley Leonard considered unprepared for the pressure of a playoff race, Rivers was lured out of retirement. He did not lead the Colts to any victories, but he did nothing to tarnish his reputation either. He relied on his experience and smarts more than his arm, which had not thrown a pass in a professional game in five years.
As Taylor noted, he got another firsthand look at how well Philip Rivers understands the game of football.
Of course, as anyone with experience coaching can tell you, knowledge is only part of the challenge. When he was introducing Jeff Saturday as the Colts’ surprise interim head coach in 2022, former owner Jim Irsay used very similar language.
“He’s extremely smart … he understands the game…” Irsay said of his novice coach. No one doubted Saturday’s understanding then, and no one doubts it today, in his role as an upper-tier football analyst on ESPN.
But Saturday’s brief tenure as coach was wholly unsuccessful.
Legendary Georgetown University basketball coach John Thompson used to explain what is required of a head coach – especially in the professional ranks. Knowledge – understanding the game – is the floor.
Thompson, who backed up Bill Russell for the Boston Celtics dynasty in the 1960s, said Red Auerbach was the greatest coach he ever saw – not because of his knowledge, which was top shelf – but because he was the best leader of men Thompson ever knew.
Guiding a group of highly competitive, well-paid professional athletes requires more than mere knowledge. It requires all the skills of a professional psychologist. By all accounts, Philip Rivers has always dealt well with his teammates. He was undeniably popular with the Colts, as evidenced by Taylor’s ringing endorsement.
But one part of Taylor’s answer is intriguing. “Anybody who has him on their coaching staff…” doesn’t necessarily sound like a pitch for a head coach. Though Taylor did clearly mention Rivers as a great head coach, reading between the lines makes it seem as if he is really talking about Rivers as a complementary component on a staff, and perhaps not the top man.
That actually would seem like a much more rational path for Rivers to follow if he indeed is interested in a head coaching spot in the NFL. Serving even a brief year or two on staff while seeing how the head coach operates would probably be invaluable for him.
Of course, that’s all speculation at this point. Rivers may never decide to scratch that NFL coaching itch. Any team hiring him as a head coach with nothing beyond high coaching on his resume would be making a very bold play.
But were it to happens, it sounds as if Jonathan Taylor would have no problem playing for him.