Man of the house
Wade is the oldest of Bum and Helen Phillips' six children – and the only one who's male.
While Bum was busy climbing the high school, college and pro coaching ranks, Wade helped his mother change diapers, baby-sit and car pool. There was little football talk at home.
"I'd have to talk to myself or my mother," Wade once said. "My sisters didn't talk much football. My dad wasn't there a whole lot."
When Wade was playing at the University of Houston and Bum was a San Diego Chargers assistant, it was Wade who drove Helen to the hospital to deliver his youngest sister, Kim Ann (whom Wade named).
"Well, Dad," Wade told Bum after phoning to give him the news, "you've got a girls basketball team now."
Orange-born Wade Phillips is the Cowboys' seventh head coach and the third native Texan to lead the franchise, joining Tom Landry (Mission) and Jimmy Johnson (Port Arthur). Obviously, going native worked well for the Cowboys in the past:
| Coaches | Reg. Season | Postseason | Super Bowl wins | | Landry-Johnson | 294-198-6 | 27-17 | 4 | | Everyone else | 107-101 | 5-6 | 1 | |
Winding road
During Wade's youth, the Phillips family followed Bum to high school coaching stops throughout Texas: Nederland, Jacksonville, Amarillo and Port Neches.
There also were stints for Bum as an assistant at Texas A&M (under Bear Bryant), Houston (under Bill Yeoman), SMU (under Hayden Fry), UT-El Paso and Oklahoma State.
It isn't surprising, then, that the Cowboys are Wade's 17th coaching job. Follow along, if you don't mind getting dizzy:
| Years | Position | | 1969 | Graduate assistant, University of Houston | | 1970-72 | Defensive coordinator, Orange High School | | 1973-74 | Linebackers coach, Oklahoma State | | 1975 | Defensive line coach, Kansas | | 1976 | Linebackers coach, Houston Oilers | | 1977-80 | Defensive line coach, Houston Oilers | | 1981-85 | Defensive coordinator, New Orleans Saints | | 1985 | Head coach (interim), New Orleans Saints | | 1986-88 | Defensive coordinator, Philadelphia Eagles | | 1989-92 | Defensive coordinator, Denver Broncos | | 1993-94 | Head coach, Denver Broncos | | 1995-97 | Defensive coordinator, Buffalo Bills | | 1998-2000 | VP of operations and head coach, Buffalo Bills | | 2002-03 | Defensive coordinator, Atlanta Falcons | | 2003 | Head coach (interim), Atlanta Falcons | | 2004-06 | Defensive coordinator, San Diego Chargers | |
The next generation
Bum Phillips said he never suggested to Wade that he consider coaching because, "As Coach [Bear] Bryant told me, 'The only reason a man should ever go into coaching is if he can't be happy doing anything else.' "
Wade wasn't deterred. A few days before going to the 1990 Super Bowl as Denver's defensive coordinator (the Broncos lost, 55-10, to San Francisco), Wade was asked whether the next Phillips generation might get into coaching.
"Well, Wesley's 10," he said. "I think I'll encourage him to be anything but a coach."
Well, as you might guess, Wes Phillips didn't listen. He recently completed his first season as Baylor's quarterbacks coach – which makes Wade's return to Texas all the more special.
Wes played quarterback at UT-El Paso, graduating in 2001. He was a student assistant at UTEP, then spent two seasons at West Texas A&M under current Baylor offensive coordinator Lee Hays.
Wade and Laurie Phillips' other child, Tracy, is somewhat more famous. She is an actress, dancer (mostly burlesque) and choreographer who lives in Southern California.
Filling big shoes
Following Bill Parcells shouldn't be too daunting for Phillips. He has made a career of succeeding well-known coaches.
On Nov. 25, 1985, 38-year-old Wade took over as interim head coach at New Orleans, succeeding his 62-year-old father who had abruptly resigned after a 4-8 start.
In 1989, Phillips replaced 20-year Broncos defensive coordinator Joe Collier, who had fashioned the Orange Crush defense. Four years later, Phillips followed Dan Reeves as Denver's head coach.
In 1994, he succeeded legend Marv Levy as the Buffalo Bills' head coach. Then in 2003, he replaced Reeves again, this time as interim head coach at Atlanta.
Odd trivia: Both times Phillips served as an interim head coach, he was replaced by a Mora. Jim Mora I succeeded Phillips at New Orleans in 1985; Jim Mora II replaced him at Atlanta after the 2003 season.
Music City Miracle
Cowboys fans are all-too-aware of Phillips' 0-3 playoff mark as a head coach. But that record, and his head coaching reputation, might have been much different if not for one of the most famous plays in NFL history.
On Jan. 8, 2000, Phillips' Buffalo Bills led Tennessee, 16-15, after a Steve Christie field goal with 16 seconds left.
But on the kickoff, the Titans executed a handoff and a cross-the-field lateral to Kevin Dyson, who completed a 75-yard touchdown return with three seconds left. The Titans subsequently beat Indianapolis and Jacksonville and lost to the Rams in the Super Bowl.
Phillips fired special teams coach Bruce DeHaven, who recently left the Cowboys for Seattle.
