The football world learned on Monday that longtime NFL quarterback Philip Rivers will not become the next head coach of the Buffalo Bills after he interviewed for the job ahead of the weekend.
Before Rivers withdrew from the Bills’ coaching search, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk offered an update regarding previous rumors that linked Buffalo with current North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick.
Why Bills reportedly have made this Bill Belichick decision
“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bills are not interested in Bill Belichick,” Florio revealed on Sunday. “…He’s currently regarded as radioactive by most NFL teams looking for coaches. And he has only himself to blame, thanks to the bizarre distractions he created in North Carolina over the past year and his open hostility toward his long-time employer in New England. Any NFL owner who would be inclined to hire Belichick would have to assume that, eventually, some of that same venom will be directed to his next former team.”
Before the 2025 Tar Heels finished the season with a record of 4-8, stories suggested that Belichick’s highly publicized relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson raised concerns among some NFL executives. As it pertains to Belichick’s “open hostility toward his long-time employer in New England,” he and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft have seemingly taken shots at each other since Belichick and Kraft “mutually agreed to part ways” in January 2024.
Kraft may have played a role in Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank hiring Raheem Morris over Belichick two Januarys ago. The Falcons fired Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot earlier in January.
Bills, other NFL teams may have this concern about Bill Belichick
“The current employees of the football operation would have to worry about Belichick showing up and taking over, firing long-time employees and bringing in his own people,” Florio added about why Belichick currently doesn’t have much interest from NFL teams. “That’s what apparently derailed Belichick’s candidacy with the Falcons in 2024 after he was fired by the Patriots.”
Belichick turns 74 years old in April and is still 15 wins away from breaking Don Shula’s NFL record for career victories earned by a head coach (including the regular season and the playoffs). It seems Belichick won’t get closer to matching or surpassing Shula’s mark anytime soon.