Few coaches have the comprehensive resume Wade Phillips has. The well-traveled Texan has served as head coach for six different teams in his 40-year coaching career, but until three weeks ago had been unable to capture the NFL’s biggest prize.
Tuesday, the Broncos defensive coordinator joined Gil Whiteley to reflect upon his first Super Bowl title, as well as share how he plans to prepare for next season.
“I was lucky to get back into the game, I felt like could I help someone, and I think I did a little bit,” Phillips chortled. “It was pretty fantastic to win the Super Bowl after being unemployed.”
Phillips spent the prior year out of football after he was let go from the Houston Texans after serving as defensive coordinator and then interim head coach.
Phillips, the son of late NFL coach Bum Phillips, reminisced on his family experience after winning his first title. “I didn’t realize how important it was to everybody until it happened,” he said. “My sisters were there, my wife, my son was there, all the girls were crying.”
While Phillips enjoyed his family time at the big game, he was also quick to compliment Denver’s defensive performance against Carolina, having just gone over the film earlier that morning before appearing with Whiteley.
“It was great to see how many guys played their best games,” said Phillips. “Everybody either played their best game or close to it, and that made a big difference.”
Phillips admitted to soaking in the moment as a Super Bowl Champion, but is already hard at work preparing for the Broncos’ title defense in the 2016 NFL season.
“We just got back from the combine. We’re in the office looking at free agents; we’ll be looking at college players,” Phillips added.
Although the draft and free agency may make most the headlines this time of year, Phillips and his staff will also spend plenty of time in the film room. They’ll be evaluating not only the players on-field performance, but also all the coaching decisions made during the year, and how those could be improved.
Tough decisions undoubtedly lie ahead for Phillips. He and the team are faced with the possibility of losing defensive stalwarts such as Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan to free agency.
“Those guys are tough to replace, but the good news is we have depth,” said Phillips. “Both Malik and Danny rotated throughout the year, but those two guys were part of a tremendous defense, one of the best of all-time in the playoffs.
As Phillips is burning the midnight oil to have his team ready for next year, he can take comfort in the fact that the Broncos have proved all year long of how hard work really can pay off. As the Panthers danced and dabbed their way through Super Bowl week, Phillips and the Broncos quietly prepared for the “David vs. Goliath” showdown.
“Our guys really embraced the underdog role,” Phillips concluded. “They felt that they were really good, and they wanted to show everybody, and they did.”
Listen to the full discussion with Wade Phillips in the podcast below…
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