75-Year Old Wade Phillips Thinks He Hasn't Received a New NFL Contract Due to His Age

Former NFL head coach and Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator Wade Phillips believes that his age has prevented him from getting another shot in the league.

"I hate to say it, but I think it's age," the 75-year-old told David Russell of the New York Post. "It's hard to beat my record as a coordinator, so there's got to be another reason. But that's OK. I'm glad to be doing what I'm doing."

Phillips is the head coach and general manager of the XFL's Houston Roughnecks, who have gotten off to a 2-0 start in the third iteration of the spring football league.

He coached in the NFL from 1976-2000, 2002-13 and 2015-19 for a total of 42 seasons. Phillips has gone to the Super Bowl three times as a defensive coordinator with the 1989 and 2015 Denver Broncos and the 2018 Los Angeles Rams. He won the Super Bowl with the 2015 Broncos, who sported the NFL's No. 4 scoring defense.

Phillips also served as a head coach (or interim head coach) at six stops, compiling an 82-64 record along the way.

"My niche in the NFL was defensive coordinator," Phillips told Russell. "My record's pretty good as head coach. It was fun being a head coach. I didn't do terrible."

He last worked in the NFL in 2019 as the Rams' defensive coordinator. L.A. opted against renewing his contract after the season.

Phillips may no longer be in the NFL, but the family tradition continues with his son, Wes, now serving as the Minnesota Vikings' offensive coordinator. Phillips' father, Bum Phillips, was notably the Houston Oilers' head coach from 1975-1980 and led the team to back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 1978 and 1979.

For now, Phillips is leading a Houston team that's outscored its opponents 56-28 through two games.