Wade Phillips seeks first Super Bowl title after several close calls

Wade Phillips thought his father had the team in Houston, and the veteran coach even got to the Super Bowl in his first stint with the Denver Broncos way back when.

His best team might have been his 2007 Dallas Cowboys, which produced a record 13 Pro Bowlers.

But Phillips, now 68 years old and in his 37th NFL season, still seeks his first Super Bowl ring.

“We’ve been fighting for it for a long time,” Phillips said. “When I started it out [in Houston], I thought it was pretty easy. If we could just beat Pittsburgh, we’re there, and then Oakland beat us [in 1980]. Then we all got fired. So yeah, it’s the ultimate.”

The Oilers never could “kick in the door” for Bum Phillips, who had his son as his defensive line coach from 1976-80, losing back-to-back AFC Championship games to the Steelers. The Broncos reached the Super Bowl in Phillips’ first year as their defensive coordinator in 1989 but lost to the 49ers 55-10.

In his first season as head coach of the Cowboys, Phillips’ team went 13-3 and had home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. But they lost to the Giants 21-17 in the divisional round.

“We got beat that year by New England pretty bad [48-27] at home, but anytime you get in the playoffs you have a chance,” Phillips said. “It seemed like we lost to a team that did pretty well after they played us. That’s right — the Giants won it all, didn’t they? And we were in that game, and driving at the end of the game. We had a chance to win it. It was a close game. We had a really good team, but it didn’t work out.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones fired Phillips in the middle of the 2010 season after a 1-7 start. It was nothing new for Phillips, who has lost track of the number of his firings.

“I know there are two kinds of coaches,” said Phillips, referring to Bum’s quote about the only kinds of coaches are those who have been fired or are going to be. “…You’ve got to coach as good as you can coach. Somebody else makes the decision of whether you’re fired or not fired.”

Yet, Phillips always seems to land on his feet. Six teams have tapped him as head coach, including three interim tenures, and eight teams have hired him as defensive coordinator.

“I’m lucky to be where I am in some ways,” Phillips said. “I think I’ve earned a lot of it, but you still have to be lucky.”

Phillips, fired by the Houston Texans after the 2013 season, didn’t get a job offer for 2014. Although many believed his career was finished, Phillips knew several head coaching candidates who promised to hire him.

Gary Kubiak, who had Phillips as his defensive coordinator for three seasons with the Texans, did hire Phillips after he was hired in Denver. But it came only after the Bengals denied Vance Joseph an opportunity to become the Broncos’ coordinator.

The Broncos ranked first in six major defensive categories this season, including total defense and sacks per pass play. It marked the 18th time Phillips has produced a top-10 unit in his 33 years as a head coach or coordinator.

It likely will earn Phillips assistant coach of the year when the award is announced at NFL Honors on Saturday night.

“He brings confidence is what he brings,” said Kubiak, who served as a ball boy for Bum Phillips’ Oilers while growing up in Houston. “You go back and look at Wade’s career. Everywhere he has been, he has been able to turn things around and find some success early. I think that speaks to his ability to teach.

“…I’m very proud of Wade. He has had a great career as a head coach [and] assistant coach. It speaks for itself. For him to have this opportunity, with the job he has done, has been excellent.”

Phillips, with a handle of @sonofbum, has 90,000 Twitter followers. He dances with his players and listens to rap and hip hop.

Is he really 68?

“We did an interview together,” said Broncos linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who played for Phillips for 3  1/2 seasons in Dallas. “Tony Gonzalez asked him, he said, ‘So, Wade, you being 68….’ Wade said, ‘Six foot eight?’ That’s how he jokes around. He doesn’t act like he’s 68. That’s what brings out the enthusiasm in the players he coaches.”

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 9:12 PM with the headline "Wade Phillips seeks first Super Bowl title after several close calls."