He actually has a winning record at every HC stop he's had. But to me, I just don't see anyone hiring him as HC. With the success of the 49ers, fans want a young up-and-comer with a clean slate. I just don't think Wade Phillips as HC is going to sell a lot of tickets. Hell, most people outside of Texas don't even know he's our DC right now. The average NFL fan just remembers the cowboys imploding on him.
I don't think it's a matter of opportunity, but how much Phillips want to be a HC. I mean, there's something to be said about the egos of all these people. Is Wade willing to play 2nd fiddle to Kubiak? If he can't handle it, then he'll leave. There will likely be a team that will want him for being able to turn a 30th defense into a 2nd defense. But if he prefers stability, there's no better place to be than in Houston. McNair will pay him a ton of money. He and Kubiak would be more on the same level than what you'd expect from HC and DC. The fans will support him more here than any other city through hard times. Overall he'll have a cushy position, incredible job security, and lots of power for an assistant. But if he wants to be a HC, I think he has another shot somewhere if he chooses.
When you look at the turnaround on defense, as stark as any in NFL history, it's inevitable that Wade is offered another chance to coach. But it's a pity that it's Wade who's leaving and Kubiak who's staying.
I think he has a point. There was a point, either this year or last year, when something like 7 out of the 8 teams that were leading their division were led by coaches who were in their first HC job.
It would be interesting to see if we would promote Herring or Vance Joseph (are they ready to be play callers?) or maybe ask Wade for advice on someone outside the organization. Also I wonder if Wade would take an offensive play caller from the Shanahan/Kubiak coaching tree since this combo is working pretty well.
Yeah, Wade's really done wonders mentoring Yates at QB and establishing the 2nd best running game in the league, all while Andre Johnson is in street clothes for the majority of the season....
Last year, and then they lost complete control and their teams spiraled downward. A sign of inexperience? I forgot to add the Princeton grad, Jason Garrett.
Hopefully this doesn't cause a distraction for the Texans. Once coaching rumors swirled about Kevin Sumlin we all know what happened with that story.
I personally have no beef with Kubiak as our offensive coordinator. I don't even care if he's our OC with the title of Texans "head coach". But I do not ever, again want him to touch anything on the defensive side of the ball. The day Kubiak start picking his own DC again is when the Texans are going back to being .500.
Wade Phillips is taking a medical leave of absence for a few weeks..... https://twitter.com/#!/MarkBermanFox26/status/146970144441241600
****! hope he's ok! it's a little different with professional players in their 20s/30s as opposed to college kids who specifically attended a university due to the coach. i don't anticipate any issues.
What in the FingF is going on around here?!?! This is shooting well-part ridiculous at this point. What's next? Team charter going down? I mean, really! Unreal.
Oh yeah Texans? You want to just keep winning despite me taking out your starting OLB, starting and backup QB, starting WR, starting RB, starting safety? FINE! Boom, there goes your DC! How you like THEM apples? -signed, Football Gods
I was beginning to wonder who we'd lose this week. I guess it's Wade for the next two weeks. Health before a game, I understand. And the timing is not too bad. We face Panthers and Colts next two weeks. Oh well. At least it's not a significant player...yet.
BTW, wanting to be a head coach and being offered the chance to be a head coach are wildly different things. Of course Wade Phillips wants to be a head coach. So do I. But will he get any offers? Perception is reality and I don't think he's generally perceived to be a successful head coach. And he's a massive retread (he's been a HC six times previously, I believe) who's last assignment ended in absolute total wreakage. The NFL landscape has teams like Jacksonville and Buffalo, who can't attract the Cowhers and Grudens of the world and thus might take a flier on a guy like Phillips. But I don't envision him being a hot commodity. Gregg Williams, Dom Capers, Mike Nolan, Jim Hasslett - all successful DCs who previously failed as head coaches and haven't gotten many sniffs of late. The trend is young or SB-caliber pedigree (there's no way he's ahead of Cowher, Gruden or Fisher on anyone's radar).
What's not encouraging about that? Of course he wants to be a head coach. Practically any coordinator in the NFL wants to be a head coach, and will say as much if directly asked. That doesn't mean it's going to happen. Wade is going to be 65 years old next year, coming off a medical procedure that caused him to miss time, and was largely viewed as a failure (even though I don't think it's deserved) in his most recent head-coaching stint. He's a retread. The wave in NFL head coaching hires, aside from going after rock stars like Cowher/Gruden, is going after young hot-shots. Head coaches hired in 2011: Jim Harbaugh (47), Mike Munchak (51), Hue Jackson (46), John Fox (56), Pat Shurmur (46), Ron Rivera (49). In total, that's six vacancies, and 5 of the 6 went to guys 51 and under with practically zero head-coaching experience. The lone exception, John Fox, is only 56 and was coming off a largely successful nine-year stint in Carolina. Wade will get a couple of interviews, I'm sure, because he's respected around the league. But it baffles me that Texans fans can't see through the McClain BS. This whole "Wade's going to leave" drama is ridiculously transparent. Folks close to Wade want to see him get another head-coaching chance, and the whole freaking world knows that McClain allows himself to be used for the sake of getting access. So, they plant the seed in McClain's head, a couple of stories are written in the Chronicle, and away we go. Not a single word about Wade Phillips being a serious head-coaching candidate has come from anywhere besides the Houston Chronicle. Not from any other cities or teams, not from any other media organization. It's John McClain, period. Use your thinking caps and don't fall for it. Wade will be back in 2012.
