Phillips Takes Medical Leave, Wants A HC Job

[chuck]

Originally Posted by WMH

@espn_afcsouth: Per @johnclayton: Wade Phillips will interview with Tampa Bay on Friday. #texans

Why the hell would they want to hire a seventy year old guy with one kidney?

[Keith]

Originally Posted by chuck

Why the hell would they want to hire a seventy year old guy with one kidney?

...on a team 3 years away from seriously competing, especially amongst the Saints, Falcons, and now...Cam Newton's Panthers?

[barrett]

Not to mention you have a young QB in desperate need of a great offensive mind. If I am running TB my number one priority is getting Josh Freeman right. Wade cannot help at all with that.

[Nconroe]

Seems to me any interviews should wait till after playoffs.

Poor timing could become a distraction.

[WMH]

With all due respect to Wades skills, he's not a top candidate for a reason.
If you look at the openings left (assuming the reports of Fisher to the Rams are true), that leaves the Hags, Bucs, and Fins.
Fins - Wade's not flashy enough.
Bucs - As Barrett pointed out, they need some serious help on O.
Jags - Unfortunately, I see this as his best opportunity. Knows the division, a key component of the Texans staff, and he will likely be a cheaper option, but has experience.

But even with the Hags, they might lean towards an O to try to save Gabbert, if that's possible. But with the talent influx on D, he could be justified there fairly well.

I hope he stays, and as bad as this will sound, I think his age, coupled with this health scare, may just keep him here.

[edo783]

IMO, I don't think Wade really wants to leave, but Dallas left a bad taste in his mouth and the crap that happened in the media and everyone wants to prove they can when others say they can't. I think he wants to be ASKED to the dance, but would rather stay put, not to mention his health. We need to make him Asst. Head Coach and back up the Brink's truck and call it a day.

[WMH]

Originally Posted by edo783

We need to make him Asst. Head Coach and back up the Brink's truck and call it a day.

I think he already is the HC - Def. And, I might be wrong on this, but I think he is the highest DC in the league. IMO, Wade's desire to be a HC doesn't have a whole lot to do with money. He's been in the league for 25+ years. He's probably OK with his finances.

[barrett]

If I had a team with Defensive issues, but a largely veteran offense, and I wanted to win now (like playoffs win), then I would consider Wade as an option. His returns are highest in the first years everywhere he goes. After a while he tends to lose a little control/discipline with the players.

Honestly, he would not have been a bad HC hire to replace Kubs if they had fired him last offseason. Wade gets his teams above .500 and to the playoffs. But I would not touch him for a rebuilding job (he is not long term), I would not trust him to get me over the top to a title (he never has in 25 years), and I would not hire him if I needed offensive help.

If Andy Reid or Tom Coughlin had been fired for their defensive issues I think he could have stepped in and had immediate 11-12 win results out of either team without touching the offenses. But none of the current jobs really suit him.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

Seems to me any interviews should wait till after playoffs.

Poor timing could become a distraction.

I'd go so far as to say it's really classless of Phillips. Of course maybe I'm just a bit naive here, thinking Wade was some nice ole guy who wanted only the best for the city of Houston and would do nothing which might cause his team to lose its focus for the weekends upcoming game in Baltimore. Turns out ole Wade is just another opportunistic, self-serving coach looking for the next deal that's better than his current gig. In other words, your average NFL coach.

[Keith]

Sadly, that may be so. Wade wants one last hurrah. Tough to blame him.

I doubt seriously Wade is offered the job though. Mike Sherman seems to be a favorite, and myself, one of these days I keep thinking Jerry Gray will be a NFL head coach.

[WMH]

It has been reported that Tampa wants to pull the trigger next week. Wade interviewing this week is likely a function of that. If he wants his name in the circle, he has to be available when he's needed to be available.

IMO, much ado about nothing. Jabba indicated it would be done on Friday evening. Game plan done. Week of practice done. Why should we care who he has dinner with?

I think he is the longest of long shots for this particular gig (ok, maybe Marty S is the longest, but Wade's running a close 2nd.....).

[Warren]

The Bucs needed the Texans’ permission to interview Wade, and the Texans could approve the time and place of the interview. A coach whose team played in the wild card round may only be interviewed after the wild card games and before the divisional games, so it could only be this week. Only one interview is allowed as long as the Texans are still in the playoffs, unless they make it to the Super Bowl in which case the Bucs can (again, with the Texans’ permission) talk to him a second time in the open week no later than the Sunday before the Super Bowl (the day of the Pro Bowl). They can’t have any other contact with him or his agent, and they can’t sign him to a contract, get him to promise to sign a contract, or announce that he’s the next coach.

I’m pretty sure that before that last rule was put in place there were several assistants who coached on Super Bowl winners after they’d been named as head coaches elsewhere. I want to say that Norv Turner and Dave Wannstedt coached in the Super Bowl for the Cowboys after agreeing to take the jobs in Chicago and Washington and Bill Belichick was named as the Browns’ head coach before winning a ring as the Giants’ DC.

I don’t have a problem with Wade wanting another shot as a head coach and I don’t think it’ll be a distraction. He’ll have an uphill battle in getting the job, not only because of his age and health concerns but also because of the way it ended for him in Dallas and all of the stories that came out about how loose a ship he ran there.

[WMH]

Whew! This was one I was worried about:
@taniaganguli: The #Jaguars are hiring Mike Mularkey, according to a source. Mularkey interviewed today.

[WMH]

@AdamSchefter: Texans DC Wade Phillips, who was scheduled to interview for the Buccaneers HC job Friday, told Tampa Bayt hat he was pulling out of process

[cadams]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I'd go so far as to say it's really classless of Phillips. Of course maybe I'm just a bit naive here, thinking Wade was some nice ole guy who wanted only the best for the city of Houston and would do nothing which might cause his team to lose its focus for the weekends upcoming game in Baltimore. Turns out ole Wade is just another opportunistic, self-serving coach looking for the next deal that's better than his current gig. In other words, your average NFL coach.

that's a bit over the top. it is unfair to hold coaches/players to a different standard than you would hold yourself or others. if someone wanted to interview you for a job that would be more prestige, a way to vindicate yourself and over double your income, but the only catch was they wanted to make a decision within a couple of weeks AND they are going to interview other people for the job as well, i am pretty sure you would make your schedule work for the interview. if you want to be mad about the situation, then be mad at the nfl rules. if wade didn't interview this week then he couldn't interview until after the texans are out of the playoffs. it would be unfair to him to say because you have done so well we are not going to let you interview for a better job.

i hope he stays, and honestly, if i was a team looking at a multi-year building process i probably wouldn't go with a 65 year old man coming off major surgery, so i think there is a decent chance he is back. but all the bs coming down on wade for doing something everyone else would do as well is terrible.