Wade Phillips: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coaching Candidate
by Sander on Jan 11, 2012 8:09 AM EST
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PrintWade Phillips will interview for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' head coaching position on Friday, which means we get to talk about the possibility of Wade Phillips as a head coach. Phillips is a very hot name in coaching land right now because he's turned around the Houston Texans' defense quickly and efficiently, despite losing his best player to injury early in the season. Wade Phillips has consistently put out great defenses, and that's certainly a good thing. He has also been successful as a head coach, at least in the regular season, with a career 82-59 record and two division titles in 9 years.
Of course, there's some reason to criticize Wade Phillips too. He's had five head coaching opportunities in total, two of them as interim coach, and he has had success - but it hasn't been overwhelming. There are questions about the way he runs teams and whether he can control a roster and run a tight ship - something the Buccaneers are supposedly looking for after Raheem Morris.
Wade Phillips has a terrific track record as a defensive coordinator, but being a good coordinator and being a good head coach are two different things. Can he translate his success as a coordinator into playoff wins and even a Super Bowl? He hasn't done that so far.
Previous Experience
Graduate assistant, University of Houston, 1969
Defensive Coordinator, West Orange-Stark High School, 1970-1972
Linebackers Coach, Oklahoma State University, 1973-1974
Defensive Line Coach, University of Kansas, 1975
Defensive Line Coach, Houston Oilers, 1976-1980
Defensive Coordinator, New Orleans Saints, 1981-1985
Interim Head Coach, New Orleans Saints, 1985
Defensive Coordinator, Philadelphia Eagles, 1986-1988
Defensive Coordinator, Denver Broncos, 1989-1992
Head Coach, Denver Broncos, 1993-1994
Defensive Coordinator, Buffalo Bills, 1995-1997
Head Coach, Buffalo Bills, 1998-2000
Defensive Coordinator, Atlanta Falcons, 2002-2003
Interim Head Coach, Atlanta Falcons, 2003
Defensive Coordinators, San Diego Chargers, 2004-2006
Head Coach, Dallas Cowboys, 2007-2010
Defensive Coordinator, Houston Texans, 2011
Why Wade Phillips should be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Head Coach:
- He's an experienced winner
Experience seems to be the number one criterium for a head coach right now, and Wade Phillips certainly has it. He's not Marty Schottenheimer, but then no one is. But he has an 82-59 regular season record and a 1-5 record in the playoff. He has consistently won games (though not in the playoffs), and he's done so with multiple teams. He has experience, he knows what it takes to win, and he's done it before. That's what the Bucs are looking for, judging by the guys they're bringing in. - He can turn around a defense and do it quickly
Whatever doubts you have about Wade Phillips' abilities as a head coach, there should be no doubts whatsoever about his abilities as a defensive coordinator. He has done well as a coordinator in every spot he's coached, and has managed to build very good defenses in very short times. Yes, he runs a 3-4 defense - but it's a one-gap 3-4 defense that would be fairly easy to transition to for the Bucs' current personnel. - He will put together a good staff
Wade Phillips knows people. Lots and lots of people. He's been in the league forever and then some, and he's played for everyone and their mother. It's ridiculous how many teams this guy has coached for, but he's been exposed to anyone and everyone. That means one thing: he has the connections to put together a good coaching staff, and that's key to succeeding in the NFL.
- Discipline?
Wade Phillips has never been known as a guy who can instill a sense of discipline into a team. In fact, when he was fired in Dallas the main complaint was that he seemed to have lost the team and couldn't instill discipline. Sloppy play and penalties characterized that 2010 Cowboys team. With the Bucs coming off a season marred by sloppy play, penalties and a team that seemed lost, does a coach who suffered from those same problems in his previous job work? - Playoffs?! We talking about playoffs!?
As with Marty Schottenheimer, Wade Phillips has not had success in the playoffs. In fact, he's only won one playoff game in his career. That's not very good. He's also been fired in three different cities, and hasn't ever lasted more than four years with one team as a head coach. Is this a concern for the Bucs? Well, right now a winning season would be nice regardless of any playoff performance, and Phillips has certainly shown he can deliver that. - Offense?
The Bucs want to build their team around Josh Freeman. They want to find the right guys to play with him, and the right coach to develop him. Hiring a defensive-minded head coach wouldn't really work with that objective. Can Wade Phillips help develop Josh Freeman, and can he bring in the right assistant coaches for Freeman to work with?
Other Head Coaching Profiles:
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I don't even need to read this article
To say please god I don’t want Wade as our HC
by TampaBayAllTheWayFromCaliforni-A on Jan 11, 2012 9:42 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Wade noway
Don’t get me wrong this guy is a good coach, but he is not the guy for us. I don’t think the guys we have in our locker room will respond well to him, and I just don’t like him as a leader of men. There is only one guy that have been linked to out hc position, his name is Marty
by keysersoze19 on Jan 11, 2012 9:57 AM EST via Android app reply actions
My bad
There is one guy who I like that has been linked to our hc position, and his name is marty
by keysersoze19 on Jan 11, 2012 9:59 AM EST via Android app reply actions
I love Wade Phillips as a DC...
but honestly, I don’t trust Dom to get him the players he needs. Phillips seems like a nice guy, and to me that would not play well here. We need a disciplinarian style HC, like a Cowher or Coughlin type that will get all up in your face and won’t take any crap from our “thug-like” street ballers. My way or the highway needs to be the new mantra around here… and Wade Phillips is not that type of coach.
Now if next HC Marty Schottenheimer could convince Wade Phillips to come here as the DC while he grooms him to take over, and toughens him up in the process – I am way on board with that.
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 10:34 AM EST up reply actions
We can't get him as DC unless the texans dump him
and there is no way the texans are dumping him short of losing him to a head coaching job. Otherwise I’d agree with you, he’d be a great DC here.
Oh and I agree on the criticism of Phillips re:discipline
I just don’t think we can handle that with this team right now.
FISHER ANYONE?
Why is it that Fisher is not in the mix?
WHAT WE DO IN LIFE...ECHOES IN ETERNITY JOHN 3:16
Jeff Fisher clearly does not want to be in the mix...
he probably has looked at our current GM, the way out teams “talent” has been aquired, the lack of our financial commitment, and as said inside his own head – “Thanks, but no thanks”.
I can’t say I blame him – can you?
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 11:31 AM EST up reply actions
Because he doesn't want to come here?
and is pretty much the Rams new HC in all but name at this point?
Where have we read that he does not want to come here?
Maybe our owners don’t want to pony up the do-ray-me to pay for a guy like him and didn’t even invite him for an interview.
WHAT WE DO IN LIFE...ECHOES IN ETERNITY JOHN 3:16
Fisher isnt an elite coach anyways
Just stable and experienced. Im for schottenheimer all the way but I think phillips is an awesome defensive mind.
by Carlitin1988 on Jan 11, 2012 11:43 AM EST via Android app up reply actions
Just discussed this in another thread
According to Rick Stroud http://www.bucsnation.com/2012/1/3/2679896/jeff-fisher-at-the-top-of-tampa-bay-buccaneers-wish-list-says-rick
Fisher was at the top of Mark Dominik’s wish list and they were trying to schedule an interview. Then it was said that Fisher was choosing between the Miami and St. Louis jobs. Right around the same time it came out that the Bucs weren’t that impressed with Fisher after all.
I agree with Cracker that Fisher probably turned down their interview request. All the selling points for a coach choosing the state of Florida apply even more so in Miami than they do here. The only thing we have that trumps them is Freeman, and I couldn’t blame a coach for not being sold on him (although I think that would be a mistake).
I don’t think that Stroud is making stuff up, and I don’t think that Mark Dominik wouldn’t at least try to interview the guy at the top of his list, so I’m left to conclude that Fisher wasn’t interested.
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
It is also possible the Glazer's didn't want him and Dom did
The initial reports about the Bucs not being impressed said the owners, IIRC. Obviously we don’t know, and there’s a whole lot of spin on it. Either way he isn’t coming here.
True.
But if the Glazer’s aren’t even letting Dominik interview the top guy on his list, then he really is just a little puppet. I don’t like that idea. Not at all.
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
Tampa is a great place for a new hc to start off
We have good value coming up in the draft, we have a qb, a oline, wealth of young talented dline to run what ever type of d you want to run. In the draft you bring some explosive guys on offense to go along with the skill players we already have, and address the linebacking core and you have a formable team. This is not the same situation raheem stepped into this is a much better team then that. Plus dom seems like a guy who learns from his mistakes, with that being said I think we will be busy in free agency this year, we will not just sign a punter
by keysersoze19 on Jan 11, 2012 11:43 AM EST via Android app reply actions
Keyser, not everyone out there views TB the same way we do...
and not even wanting to talk with us says an awful lot to me. We don’t spend and Dom has mucked up our team by not signing players when he could/should have. Our grinchy $$ ways have hurt our pursuit of the top HC talent.
If you view it that way – TB is not quite so tempting.
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 11:49 AM EST up reply actions
Rick Neuheisel
For OC? Thoughts? Can the Pistol be made pro friendly?
by GoBuxGo on Jan 11, 2012 11:48 AM EST via iPhone app reply actions
You make some good points crackerball
But think about what we do have, we just dont got a bunch of guys taking up roster spots. When I see our offense I see some talented guys who were playing our coaches system and that was a system that did not fit their strengths and or skill set, on defense we do have major issues we need a complete secondary, and a complete linebacking core I only like foster moving forward. I can say this though our defense is way better with a healthy Gerald Mccoy
by keysersoze19 on Jan 11, 2012 12:26 PM EST via Android app reply actions
You forget how to use the reply button in your extended absence of what?
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
Well Keyser, a 4-12 finish implies something else...
and all along I have been saying “we are not very good” and “10-6 was a fluke” and got hammered in the process. I feel vindicated a little, along with my disappointment, and hope for better things.
Rah, and his hiring, was an massive anchor around out neck. Dom is the remaining trouble spot. I didn’t like him then and I don’t like him now. I think his mere presence here limits who will, and also who won’t, come down to Tampa and be our next HC.
His “talent aquisition” methods are sucky and his drafts now look very mortal.
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 12:39 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed
I’d put a vote of no confidence in Dom, I’m not familiar with his entire job history but I’m sure he doesn’t have much American Football knowledge. Inaction is my biggest gripe with Dom, hopefully the Glazers give him some reason to fix that
by GoBuxGo on Jan 11, 2012 12:47 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
You think he has more knowledge about non-american football?
He’s been with the Bucs in some capacity for 17 years
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
What has he done lately
Besides not getting shown the door with Rah. Post-LockOut he’s been turrible, especially piecing together parts of this team. 17yrs in the biz he should know vets are necessary on a winning team, he should know that when key parts of the 2010 team where let loose no real plan was in play in finding adequate replacements. Dom needs to get it together is all I’m saying
by GoBuxGo on Jan 11, 2012 1:11 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Not much football knowledge?
Really? The dude worked his way up from scout to general manager. He has plenty knowledge.
What was done was done
Yea Dom made some mistakes but he also did some good things too, hence if he didn’t he would be gone along with morris. Thats in the past though, Marty likes this situation moving forward maybe he sees what I see. morris always said that our team was not a complete product, hopefully dom and the rest of the front office gets this thing complete
by keysersoze19 on Jan 11, 2012 1:01 PM EST via Android app reply actions
Agree
Dom sure did a couple mistakes — above all, two fat contracts to a WR and a LB who never earned their money —, but so does everyone. You have to judge a GM on his “batting average”, and so far he’s had two very solid drafts.
He didn’t do much on the FA market, but we might never know wether he didn’t want to or if the Glazers didn’t want to spend at that moment. Besides, I think the last FA season was vastly overhyped as an opportunity to retool a team. Sure, there was a record number of FA out there, but supply is only one side of a market. On the oher side, demand was also at a record high, so that FA season never was the bonanza some think it was.
Sadly for Dom - he has been part of 3 drafts, not 2...
and 2009, outside of QB Josh Freeman, has looked pretty “meh” and this happening on a very talent depleated team. The jury is still out on 2010 and 2011… but not awesome by any possible measure.
As for the F/A market, and Doms lack of participation, I believe signing 6 key F/As and one key NFL trade, over that same period of time, would/could have gotten us into the playoffs this year:
1. CB Jonathan Joseph
2. RT Doug Free
3. SS Quentin Mikell
4. LB Stephen Tulloch
5. LB Carlos Dansby
and
A trade for WR Brandon Marshall
and
*re-signing of RB Cadillac Williams
That would have given us all the veteran leadership and player upgrades required to be in the playoffs right now. Instead, the Glazers let that money draw interest while our season crumbled.
And yes, I would love to be your new GM in Tampa. Thank you and don’t forget your waitress.
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 2:52 PM EST up reply actions
We had no 2nd or 6th rounders in 2009
Miller was selected in 3rd, and two 7th rounders (Stroughter and Biggers) became contributors. Nothing that looks like a starter, but you could do much worst with 7th rounders. Add Freeman, and this is an OK draft at worst. The two others still have the potential to be very good drafts.
About the last FA class, everybody can throw a number of names and say any decent GM would’ve signed a bunch of them but, once again, you forget about the demand side.
Contributors on a very poor team...
is not the same thing as a “keeper” – not by a long stretch.
Value schmalue… we need some great starters or we will continue to remain at the bottom of the NFC South for quite some time. The apathy and excuse making is EXACTLY why we get our *ss handed to us by the likes of JAX.
We had no 2nd and 6th rounders because Dom stupidly gave them away for players that would have been there anyway. Did it again last year with the Luke Stocker thing. Dom is an amateur among professionals.
Once again, you forget that we had WAY more $$ to spend that anybody. Winners make it happen – losers whine about why it didn’t.
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
It doesn't matter whether it's on a poor team or not
Seventh-rounders who contribute are good results, regardless of the talent level of your team. Ignore the rest of the team, Stroughter and Biggers outperformed their draft slots. It’s a simple fact.
They will both possibly be gone...
So if they fail to make the team 3 years later – have they outperformed anything?
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 9:23 PM EST up reply actions
Yes
Most seventh-rounders don’t even make teams or play a single down in the NFL. even if their careers end right now, they’ve outperformed their drat slots. Easily.
You are far more generous with the accolades than I am...
I fully expect you to make the team, regardless of where you are taken. Dom is simply not as good as other GMs at finding the good late-round players. Any one of us here is knowledgeable enough to select Rounds 1-4 – but its the picks in the later rounds that separate the Belichicks from the Doms in this league. That is where teams like GB and PIT excel – and we do not.
Chosen by practically any other team, and they would not have lasted nearly as long. They were lucky to have been selected by such a talent-deficient team, or they would have been putting their college education to work a little sooner.
I would be trying to build a winner, and you would be giving out grades based on a curve. Go back through the 2009, 2010 and 2011 drafts, and look at the later round selections taken AFTER the late round players you praise. If Dom was any good, he would and should have found THOSE players instead of our back-ups. Many of the we have mentioned here before the draft- so we can find them but Dom cannot?
You are far too easy on him.
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 10:45 PM EST up reply actions
I think you're entirely unrealistic about the success rate of late-round draft picks
And too confident in your own ability in finding success in rounds 1 through 4.
Of all the 2009 seventh rounders in the 2009 draft, only 12 have played more games than Stroughter or Biggers. Most are special-teamers only. The only ones who have arguably outperformed Stroughter or Biggers are Captain Munnerlyn, LaRod Stephens-Howling, Rashad Jenning and maybe Julian Edelman.
Most of those players weren't walking into talent deficient situations like they were.
Stroughter or Biggers wouldn’t have made most rosters, but ours was so desperate for talent that they had more of an opportunity.
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
We will just have to "agree to disagree" on this...
I am very confident in my ability, or anybody elses here, to replicate Doms early round success. By simply holding an Ourlads Guide and a Pro Football Weekly in each hand could have anyone here to select with equally skill. Probably better.
You are also conveniently forgetting all of the 2009 undrafted F/As that “Uber Dom” missed in his search. Names like:
RB – Arian Foster
PK – Graham Gano
WR – Kevin Ogletree
RB – Kyle Bell
DE – Michael Bennett (though we eventually ended up with him anyway)
You continue to ignore the fact that making a talent-depleated bullsh*t roster like ours is a heck of a lot easier than sticking on almost every other team. The argument you make of “they played more games” is skewed, slighted and irrelevent because their quality is being measured against our crappy roster, and not against the league in general. It is also artificially enhanced by Dominiks consistent inept inability, or unwillingness, to sign and bring in a higher quality of player. These factors allowed Biggers and Stroughter to remain on our roster when they should have been long gone. The Draft year of 2010 is even more embarrasing to compare.
E.J. Biggers gets beaten like a drum regularly and will never be more than a back-up – even here. Sammy Stroughter has just disappeared since 2009 and will be gone soon enough.
You and I will clearly never see eye to eye on this. I see players taken in late rounds, on other teams, that are far superior to Biggers and Stroughter in overall quality. True, they may not get as much playing time on their respective teams, but this is ONLY because their rosters are harder to crack than ours. They would likely be starters here – but still remain backups on their teams.
I am very curious to hear what others have to say about this…
by Cracker Ball on Jan 12, 2012 12:06 PM EST up reply actions
I am evaluating the players
You can play the “but he didn’t get this guy” game with practically every team in the NFL. There are hunreds of undrafted free agents each year, only a handful actually do anything. You can point out the successes, but you fail to point out the huge pool of failures that everyone has.
I disagree with you that there are plenty of seventh-rounders in the NFL who did more or are better players than Stroughter and Biggers.
Remember, its not MY job to find them...
its Doms job to find them. If you think Dom is doing a good job, then say so – but I think he blows and hope he gets shown the door.
by Cracker Ball on Jan 12, 2012 12:36 PM EST up reply actions
The Redskins hate Gano
"I'm a little dysfunctional
You're the problem, Please don't awakin me
And I'm that way cause back in the day
Most have forsaken me"
You got to let players develop
by keysersoze19 on Jan 11, 2012 3:27 PM EST via Android app reply actions
How long do you give them to develop?
The 2009 players are in their 3rd year – Quincy Black and Geno Hayes have been here longer. If you insist on continually digging through the trash can for new players this kind of thing is gonna happen. Dom is negligent and basically wasted 3 entire seasons with his bargain tom-foolery.
It is time to cut bait and move on from all of them. If your last name is:
Biggers
Mack
Stroughter
Trueblood
Black (yes – both of them)
Hayes
Lee
Lorig
Balogun
Cutrera
Curran
Faine
Franklin
Blumpkin
Dotson
Hardemen
Larsen
Miller
Asante
Jones
Lynch
or Lewis, you should have a cardboard box ready to put your crap in.
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 4:04 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Dream Staff
Hc – Herm Edwards
Oc- Hue Jackson
Dc – Steve Spagnuolo
by RIP SEAN TAYLOR 21 on Jan 11, 2012 4:26 PM EST reply actions
I blame Herm Edwards for hyping up Raheem Morris...
sadly, we were the only team that took the bait.
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 9:27 PM EST up reply actions
But you still have to let that process play out
Now dom knows who will and who won’t go to war for the team, but he did not know that a few years ago, you can only expose that by letting them play, what if the giants have up on jpp after last year,
But now there is a better sense on who and who not to keep around,
by keysersoze19 on Jan 11, 2012 5:13 PM EST via Android app reply actions
Gotta love your positivity Keyser...
even after a 4-12 season you are willing to dig through the mountain of dung to find your quarter.
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 9:26 PM EST up reply actions
Why would the Giants give up on JPP?
"I'm a little dysfunctional
You're the problem, Please don't awakin me
And I'm that way cause back in the day
Most have forsaken me"
JPP is a beast and athletic freak...
it would take 3 or 4 seasons before they would give up. I think it is amazing that, with the DL depth on the NYG, he is able to play much at all. He is not only playing, but is a dominant player on an already very good DL.
by Cracker Ball on Jan 11, 2012 10:47 PM EST up reply actions
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