Wade Phillips Has Been Coaching Longer Than Rams' Top Coaches Have Been Alive
There are generations of NFL fans who have not watched a season in which Wade Phillips was not coaching somewhere in the league.
He is 72 years old and wants to continue coaching after being let go by the Los Angeles Rams earlier this week. One interesting tidbit about that team is just how young the new staff is compared not only to Phillips' age, but the length of his career.
Wade Phillips had 49 years of coaching experience. The Los Angeles Rams' head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator now have a combined 31 years coaching between them. The oldest coach of the three is Brandon Staley, 37, who was a DIII coordinator in 2016. #Young
— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) January 11, 2020
Sean McVay is turning 34 later this month and has surrounded himself with a young core of coaches after moving on from Phillips. That includes 37-year-old Brandon Staley as defensive coordinator and 34-year-old Kevin O'Connell as the new offensive coordinator.
McVay has more experience coaching football than these three do walking the earth, and he also boasts more coaching experience than the trio combined.
I have been informed by the Rams that my contract will not be renewed.
— Wade Phillips (@sonofbum) January 6, 2020
I want to thank them for the opportunity to be a part of their success the last 3years. Most of all I want to thank the players who I loved workings with. I still want to coach and feel I can contribute.
The veteran coach's career began back in 1969 as a graduate assistant with Houston. He reached the NFL in 1976 as a coach with the Houston Oilers and has had three full-time head coaching gigs since then. Yet he never won a playoff game as a head coach and saw more success as a defensive coordinator.
The Rams are gambling with a younger staff. Phillips will now seek to prove he is still valuable and that it was a mistake to let him go.