When the Chargers fired head coach Brandon Staley with three games left in the season the oddsmakers in Las Vegas put out a list of betting favorites for the job. On it were your usual suspects like Jim Harbaugh, Bill Belichick, and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. It also included longshots like Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.
Then, just two days before interim coach Giff Smith was set to lead the Bolts against the Bills at SoFi Stadium, a new name was added to the list. He came in as an even bigger underdog than Coach Prime but has a name Chargers fans are well acquainted with:
Philip Rivers +10000
Yes, THAT Philip Rivers is a 100-to-1 bet to be named the next Chargers head coach. He played 16 of his 17 NFL seasons for the Bolts and owns just about every franchise passing record imaginable. Rivers retired after the 2020 season and took over the program at St. Michael Catholic in Alabama. He's only got a handful of high school games under his belt, not usually the depth of experience we usually see in National Football League head coaches.
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But, he got a hefty endorsement from a man who knows a thing or two about winning football games.
"I absolutely think he would be successful if he gets into it and to me he's someone the Chargers shouldn't overlook," says Tony Dungy, a Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach.
Rivers is one of the most demonstrative quarterbacks the game has ever seen, which made him both loved and hated. It's somewhat reminiscent of another Hall of Fame-caliber player who took an unsuspected turn to coaching.
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"I remember a long time ago the Chicago Bears were looking for a head coach and word was out they were looking at Mike Ditka. I remembered Mike as a player and an assistant coach on the sidelines, throwing clipboards, and I said there's no way this guy can be a head coach," says Dungy. "But, George Halas said, I'm looking for somebody who's passionate about the Bears and Mike Ditka was perfect for the Chicago Bears."
Ditka coached da Bears to their only Super Bowl title and is still a legend in The Windy City. Rivers has the same passion for the Chargers and their history (specifically the part in San Diego) and he's probably even more prepared to be a head coach right now than Ditka was when he was hired.
"He's talented. He's an offensive genius. It's not too far-fetched, it really isn't," says Dungy.
Plus ... the press conferences would be AMAZING.
Now, this is really just a whole lot of fun to speculate on. Philip's son Gunnar just finished his freshman year as the St. Michael starting quarterback (where he threw for an impressive 29 touchdowns and just four interceptions) and Rivers has said many times he enjoys coaching his kids. So, even with the head job of the team he played for open, he's very likely not ready to make the leap to the NFL.
Yet.
