At this point in his career, Wade Phillips is what he is: A historically great defensive coordinator who has never been able to match that success as a head coach.
But why has he got such a bad rap?
Since getting his first experience as an interim head coach in 1985, Phillips has actually been fairly successful leading a franchise, with a career .562 winning percentage. For comparison, that’s higher than Marv Levy (.561), Mike Ditka (.560), John Fox (.558), Jon Gruden (.540), Dan Reeves (.535), Tom Coughlin (.531), Gary Kubiak (.518) and many more. Really, the only difference between Phillips and those guys is that he never had a Super Bowl appearance, let alone a win, as the head coach.
But after being ousted as the Dallas Cowboys head coach in 2010, the shine has worn off ol’ Son of Bum. Not only has nobody come asking him to coach their team, but he had a hard time finding a coordinating job until the Broncos brought him in.
That doesn’t mean he’s not interested, though. Apparently, he has a job in mind, too.
Wade Phillips on if he would ever coach again: "If it ever comes open again in Dallas."
— Ari Temkin (@arisports) February 10, 2016
Of course, the Cowboys are highly unlikely to bring back Phillips for another rodeo. For one, Jerry Jones has hitched his wagon to Jason Garrett, and it doesn’t look as if he’s letting go any time soon. And despite Phillips’ newfound popularity, no franchise is likely to retread a coach they already let go.
Still, it might be worth the thought.
While Phillips was heavily criticized during his tenure in Dallas for not getting the most out of the team, Garrett has been even worse at the helm, posting a .511 winning percentage to Phillips’ .607.
For the Broncos, though, they shouldn’t fret about losing their defensive coordinator any time soon. At 68, and on a franchise which has shown him respect and adoration, Wade Phillips is likely to finish out his coaching days in the same city that gave him his first head coaching gig back in 1993.