This article originally appeared in Mile High Sports Magazine. Read the full digital edition.
Each month MHSM catches up with a leading figure in Colorado sports. In January it was Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, as interviewed by Gil Whiteley…
“When I first started with the Houston Oilers, I thought I was going to be there forever. I thought, ‘I’m going to be coaching there and that’s where I’m going to be coaching.’ But after I moved a few times I realized – just like with my dad, he had moved a lot – that’s part of coaching. I didn’t really think of coming back to Denver; I was just looking to see, hey, where’s my next job?”
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“John Elway has always had the leadership qualities. Those have always been there. So, that part is similar. Him being able to take charge of the whole thing is the big thing. He was always a great player, always able to take charge of the offense, and he kind of carried that over.”
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“John went into the car business and did those things – arena football – as far as running business. This is a business, too. But it’s a football business, which obviously he knows.”
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“For players, coaching is not the same as it is for coaches coming up through the coaching ranks. You never know what kind of coach [a former player] is going to be. Some of the really great players have not been good coaches. With Gary Kubiak, I guess because he had to learn what everybody had to do and how to be good if you weren’t the number one quarterback, and what it took to do those things, that made him a better coach. That’s why I think he’s done really well. He knows how to teach people to do things. Sometimes it’s hard for great quarterbacks to teach somebody to be a great quarterback.”
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“I think guys [have bought in]. That’s a good thing about having a reputation. The first few years I was a coordinator we did well. Then I go somewhere else, and you have to prove yourself again. Once we’d done well a lot of times – a lot of players talk to other players – and when I come in they say, ‘Hey, this guy he’s really good,’ or ‘He knows what he’s doing,’ or whatever. So, I’ve got a reputation that’s helped me. So when I come in, they kind of listen. Plus, usually when you come in, they want something new, something different, so that gives you an in with players.”
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“I try not to preconceive where a player is or isn’t. I try to watch film on them. And certainly you can tell where some of them are. But I think Sylvester Williams has really come through better than everybody thought he was going to. He really didn’t get to utilize all of his talents; now he’s able to do that. He’s a really hard worker and he plays really hard. That’s what makes him a good player.”
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“When I was in Dallas I basically ran the defense when I was coaching, so coaching DeMarcus Ware was pretty much the same. All the drills we took him through there are all the same ones we utilize with him now. All the teaching techniques [are the same]. A lot of the calls are similar. We try to put him in a position to put pressure on the passer, and then he does the rest.”
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“My last year in Dallas as the head coach, I called the defensive plays, the year we won in the playoffs.”
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“I’ve said this when I was here before, but this community demands a winner. I think it helps your teams. Anytime someone is demanding on you to do something, it helps you be better. The Broncos organization, and all the winning over the years, part of it is the attitude of the community. It’s ‘Hey, the Broncos are going to win. They’re going to win Super Bowls.’ I think it helps your team with that mental attitude going in here. Hey, we demand a winner. It helps us.”
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“It’s really how you play in the playoffs. You’ve got to get there first, obviously, but it’s how you play in the playoffs. A lot of people say momentum going in, but one year the Giants lost four of their last five games going in and then ended up winning the Super Bowl on the road every game. It’s the team that plays best that time of year. There are certain things you have to have, and hopefully one of them is a strong defense.”
