Wade Phillips cancels interview with Tampa Bay Buccaneers for head coaching position

UPDATE: Per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Wade Phillips said "I want to be here and don't want to be a distraction" when asked about his reasons for withdrawing.

Well, that didn't last long. Wade Phillips has withdrawn as a candidate for the head coaching position of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, per Adam Schefter. No reason for his withdrawal has been given so far. The interview was to take place in Tampa, but apparently Phillips decided at the very last minute that he wasn't interested in being a head coach after all.

Interestingly, this comes just hours after Wade Phillips released a statement about the interview in which he said that the Bucs had asked permission to interview him two weeks ago. That quote highlights how secretive the Bucs have been about their head coaching search, as Wade Phillips' candidacy wasn't revealed until this past Sunday - after the Houston Texans won their playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

With Wade Phillips out of the picture in Tampa Bay, the coaching search continues. Marty Schottenheimer, Mike Sherman, Jerry Gray and Brad Childress have all interviewed for the position, while the Bucs are rumored to be interested in Cincinnati Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer. It should not be a surprise if more candidates are added to this list, however, as the Bucs managed to keep Phillips' candidacy secret for at least a week.