Wade Phillips has been on NFL sidelines for the last 45 years, but this year he’s watching on TV.
Phillips told the Buffalo News he wishes he were coaching and still thinks he would improve an NFL team’s defense, if only some team would hire him.
“I feel like I could help somebody,” Phillips said. “That’s the only thing. But they’ve got to feel that way, too. But there’ll be some teams that don’t do as well. Whether they’ll consider me to help, I don’t know that. So, we’ll have to wait and see.”
This season, Phillips is following the NFL the way millions of fans follow it.
“I’ve got the NFL Sunday Ticket, on DirecTV, so sometimes I can see six and eight games at a time,” Phillips said. “Sometimes, I flip over to the Red Zone. Sometimes, I stay on the game I would like to watch more of. Or, if it’s coming down close to halftime or something like that and I want to see a certain game, I’ll watch that. But mostly, I flip around.”
Phillips put out a message on social media offering to consult with any coaches who wanted his advice, and he heard back from high schools and colleges all over the country. He said he has talked to coaches at many major football powers at the college level but also 50 to 100 high school coaches who wanted to pick his brain.
“I got swamped,” Phillips said. “It occupied me for at least a month and a half, almost all day, every day. I’ve had Zoom meetings with college coaches and lot of high school coaches, with most lasting about an hour.”
It’s generous of Phillips to do that with his time. It’s surprising that Phillips can’t find a team willing to pay him for his time.