|
Oail Andrew “Bum” Phillips (born on September 29, 1923 in Nederland, Texas) is a former American football coach. He coached at the high school, college and pro level. He played football at Lamar Junior College (now Lamar University) in Beaumont, Texas, but enlisted in the United States Marine Corps shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into World War II. After he returned from the war, Phillips enrolled at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, lettering in football in 1948 and 1949 and graduating with a degree in Education in 1949. During the 1950s and 1960s, Phillips coached high school football in various Texas cities including Jacksonville, Amarillo, Port Neches-Groves, and in his hometown of Nederland. His college coaching stints included serving as an assistant coach at Texas A&M University (under Paul "Bear" Bryant), the University of Houston (for Bill Yeoman), Southern Methodist University (for Hayden Fry), the University of Texas at El Paso, and Oklahoma State University. In the early 1970s, Phillips joined the NFL when he was hired by Sid Gillman to serve as a defensive assistant coach for the San Diego Chargers. A few years later, Gillman became head coach of the Houston Oilers, and he brought Phillips with him as his defensive coordinator. In 1975, Phillips was named head coach and general manager of the Houston Oilers, and served in that capacity through 1980. As coach of the Oilers, he became the winningest coach in franchise history (59-38 record). He was known for his folksy mannerisms, and for wearing his trademark cowboy hat on the sidelines, except when the Oilers played in the Astrodome or other domed stadiums. (He stated that his mother taught him not to wear a hat indoors.) However, the best the Oilers did under Phillips was twice reaching the AFC Championship Game where the Oilers lost both times to the Steelers in 1978 (34-5) and 1979 (27-13). From 1981 through 1985, he was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. (And as in Houston, he didn't wear the hat inside the Superdome either.) In 1983 his Saints almost had the first winning season and playoff berth in franchise history. The Rams beat the Saints for the final playoff spot in week 16, 26-24 on Mike Lansford's 42-yard field goal with 00:02 to play. He later worked as a football analyst for television and radio. Phillips has since retired to his horse ranch in Goliad, Texas. Bum has endorsed his own brand of sausage and also has served as the spokesman for Spectrum Scoreboards. His son, Wade Phillips, has also held assistant and head coaching jobs in the NFL. Wade is currently the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
|
