SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — A few weeks ago, Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips went to great pains to describe glowingly a certain coach with the initials "B.B." — a coach he would go on to out-scheme and beat a few days later to punch his ticket to the Super Bowl.
He's learned to live with that, and it eventually led him to what is,
Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, officially, his third job with the Broncos.
It's possible that the close, personal connections he builds with players is the sort of thing that make a guy a great assistant but not so great as the head coach.
If that sounded familiar, it was a de-Texas-ized version of his dad's old homage to Don Shula: "He can take his'n and beat your'n, and take your'n and beat his'n."
No magic to it, he insists, as he gets ready for the season's biggest challenge — stopping Cam Newton and the Panthers. Essentially, Phillips says, the key to coaching — the key to life, really — is to keep things simple. And stay aggressive. And never forget, first and foremost, this is a game about connecting with people.
"One year ago, we knocked on the door. This year, we beat on the door. Next year, we're gonna kick the son of a (expletive) in," he said during a rally in front of 70,000-plus 'Luv Ya Blue'-singing fans at the Astrodome.
The plan Phillips concocted against Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots two weeks ago is being widely hailed as a stroke of genius. Mr. Aggressive threw off the Pats by often rushing only three players,
Wholesale Jerseys USA, lining up defensive linemen and linebackers in awkward spots and keeping Brady off-balance. The Broncos hit Brady 23 times, one short of double the most he had been hit all year.
"I've said it before," Phillips said. "He's a great coach because he can take his guys and beat yours,
NFL Jerseys Cheap, but he can also take your guys and beat his."
"My dad was my hero, not just my dad," Phillips said. "Everything I learned about football and about people, and about how to work with people, is from him."
Phillips has been fired from both positions more times than he can count.
If he can hatch something to stop Newton, Phillips will win his first Super Bowl ring. That missing piece would draw him one step closer to the career goal he articulated to Elway: best defensive coordinator in history.
But the next year, the Oilers lost in the wildcard round to the Raiders, who also went on to win the Super Bowl. By New Year's Eve of 1980, both Wade and his daddy were out of jobs.
Phillips says he learned the most in Houston, where he teamed up with his dad in the late '70s to form one of the best teams in football. But the Oilers had the bad luck of being good at when Pittsburgh was putting the finishing touches on a dynasty. They lost two straight years to the Steelers in the AFC title game. After the second one, came what might have been Bum's finest moment.
Asked if that was his best game plan ever, Phillips demurred. He recalled other great plans that worked but came up short.
"That's when I realized that you've just got to coach as hard as you can, do the best you can," Phillips said. "Someone will recognize it if they want."
Though Wade may be missing the 10-gallon hat and the cowboy boots, the coach with the Twitter handle @sonofbum really is a chip off the ol' block — sharp as a tack and quick with a quip. And, just like his dad, Son of Bum can coach a little, too.
Won't be easy.
The old man couldn't have said it any better.
This season's Broncos are No. 1 in yards allowed, passing yards allowed and sacks. But Phillips' head-coaching record is 82-61, and he has a grand total of one playoff win. Of his three head-coaching stints, in Denver, Buffalo and Dallas, none lasted longer than four seasons.
"He's hilarious. He'll dance and goof around," defensive lineman Derek Wolfe said. "But then when it's time for business, it's time for business. We take on that personality as a team."
They're recognizing it now.
Over the decades, he has been shoehorned into this classification: great defensive coordinator,
Wholesale Jerseys Cheap, but someone who cannot hold down the top job.
"Just winning is the big thing,
Cheap Jerseys China," he said.
"It's different with every quarterback," Phillips said of the challenge of stopping Newton. "But he is different than any quarterback."
The testimonials from his current players are consistent.
"He said, 'My goal is to be the greatest defensive coordinator in the hist