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The “Son of Bum” is returning to the pro football realm. But this time he’s a part of the XFL‘s return.
Wade Phillips, the immensely popular former Los Angeles Rams assistant who once helped engineer the franchise’s Super Bowl 53 appearance as Sean McVay‘s top defensive deputy, is returning to the head coaching ranks. This time, he was announced on Wednesday, April 13 as one of eight new head coaches named to lead an XFL franchise when the league returns in 2023.
For the son of NFL coaching legend Bum Phillips, this will mark his first coaching opportunity since the 2019 season — also his final season with the Rams.
Phillips Reacts to his Return to Sidelines
Phillips, 74, instantly posted a reaction to his latest coaching opportunity.
“So excited and honored to be picked as an XFL Head Coach. Great that XFL is back and so happy to be back myself!” Phillips tweeted on his personal Twitter account.
No official word yet on which franchise Phillips will lead. But the XFL opportunity will mark his fourth head coaching gig but first outside of the NFL.
Phillips went 16-16 in two seasons with the Denver Broncos from 1993 to 1994 (he eventually won Super Bowl 50 with the franchise as their defensive coordinator). From 1998 to the 2000 season, he led the Buffalo Bills for three seasons — producing two postseason appearances and going 29-19.
Then from 2007 to the halfway point of the 2010 campaign, he coached the Dallas Cowboys to a combined record of 34-22. But he was fired after a 1-7 start in the ’10 season — marking the first time in Cowboys history that the team fired a head coach before the season ended.
Phillips also had stepped in three times on an interim basis: 1985 (went 1-3, took over for his father) with the New Orleans Saints, then 2003 (2-1 overall, took control after Dan Reeves was fired) with the Atlanta Falcons and 2013 (winless at 0-3 after succeeding Gary Kubiak) with the Houston Texans.
Per Pro Football Reference, Phillips compiled an 82-64 overall record including a 1-5 mark in the playoffs.
Phillips, though, has also made his mark as one of the league’s top defensive play-callers. He drew up a masterful game plan that slowed down a favored Carolina Panthers team 24-10 that saw Phillips’ unit sack Cam Newton six times. While with the Rams in 2018, Aaron Donald produced his most sacks ever as a pro with 20.5. Former Rams linebacker Cory Littleton would go on and produce his only 100-tackle seasons with Phillips as the coordinator.
Congrats & Praise Pour in For Phillips
The support and praised began to arrive in Phillips’ Twitter mentions the moment he shared his reaction to the world.
One who sent his congratulations? A former NFL cornerback who played for Phillips twice in Denver and L.A.: Aqib Talib.
Former Oakland Raiders CEO and now CBS Sports analyst Amy Trask sent her congrats to Phillips.
Recently retired longtime NFL reporter for the Houston Chronicle John McClain, who covered Phillips when he was with the Texans, was another who praised Phillips’ return to coaching.
Phillips then noticed the type of social media love he was receiving…and shared a screenshot of it:
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