Rams players explain why Wade Phillips is a national treasure

Wade Phillips is a national treasure. After 42 years spent coaching in the NFL, he remains of the league’s most talented defensive minds and one of its biggest personalities.

After the Broncos won Super Bowl 50 thanks to a relentless defense helmed by Phillips, the then-68-year-old defensive coordinator wasn’t the guy you’d expect to tip his hat to Drake when the Broncos received their rings. But he did.

“It’s a really big ring. It’s a really big thing. We’ve got a really big team, as Drake would say,” Phillips said at the time.

Super Bowl LIII hasn’t been played yet, but that doesn’t mean Phillips isn’t busy giving us hilarious soundbites to remember it by. The Rams captured one early in the week as Aqib Talib asked Phillips when he actually figured out this whole defensive coordinator thing.

“Well, I’ve been poppin’ since my demo, baby,” Phillips said.

“He’s a fun-loving gentleman, a lot of excitement to him. And he’s a smart coach,” defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh told SB Nation.

And that’s clearly true, because Phillips has a foolproof plan for Tom Brady on Sunday.

Phillips also has a helpful coaching tip for teams trying to find the next Sean McVay.

According to Marcus Peters, Phillips’ love for the game of football is part of it.

“He wakes up happy every day, because he loves football,” Peters told SB Nation.

Phillips’ father, Bum Phillips, began his coaching career at Nederland High School in 1951. In 1975, he was hired as the head coach of the Houston Oilers, where he remained until 1980. He took over the head coach role for the Saints from 1981 through 1985. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 90.

The iconic look Phillips put together for the Rams’ arrival in Atlanta this week was an obvious tribute to his father.

“I do think about him. We talked after every game. I miss that,” Phillips told NFL.com on Opening Night.

Growing up in a football family has helped develop Phillips’ appreciation for the game, according to Peters.

“Coach Wade’s cool as hell,” Peters said. “Coach Wade’s a real good dude, and comes from a football family. He loves the game. He’s been doing it forever, a long time, and he really appreciates the fact that he gets to come out there and he gets to teach us, give us all the knowledge that he’s been given over these past years.”

And Phillips’ love of the game is part of the reason he’s such a successful coordinator.

That Rams’ defense is stacked with talent, including arguably the best defensive tackle in the league, Aaron Donald. Donald knows a thing or two about being great, and that’s his perspective on Phillips.

“He’s just a great coach, and a great mind that’s coached a lot of greats,” Donald told SB Nation. “So you know what he’s talking about, he’s saying that he’s done it. You listen when he says it and you just learn, and then you know he’s going to put you in a great position to have success. That’s the best thing about playing with a coach like that. He lets his players play.”

Suh said Phillips is part of the reason he chose the Rams after being cut by the Dolphins last offseason.

“He’s found ways for everybody on the defensive line to be successful and to win games, which is most important,” Suh said. “And I’m excited I have him as a coach. That was one of my excitements to come to LA when I was making my decision.”

Guard Rodger Saffold goes up against guys coached by Phillips every day in practice. He said that under Phillips’ leadership, the whole defense executes on a different level.

“Our D-line is relentless. Our linebackers are extremely fast. Our back end, our DBs are physical, and they are threats on both sides of the field,” Saffold said. “You try to make sure that you stretch the field. You try to stretch it horizontally and vertically. But they just seem to be there at all times. And with Wade being the leader, these guys are going to play for him even harder.”

Receiver Brandin Cooks said after years of playing against Phillips’ defenses during his time with other teams and seeing this defense on the practice field each day, it’s Phillips’ intelligence and strategy that stand out.

“He’s very smart. He knows how to attack you in different types of ways,” Cooks said. “Playing against him throughout my career as well, you talk about a guy who’s been doing it at a ... high level year in and year out. He’s a special coach and very smart as well.”

He’s also been key to player development.

“You look at people like (inside linebacker) Cory Littleton and see how far he’s come,” Saffold said. “You see how far (safety) LaMarcus (Joyner) has come. You see how far (safety) John Johnson has come.

“That’s not by accident. That’s through good coaching and just determination.”

If the Rams take home the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday, we’ll know Phillips had a whole lot to do with it. We’ll be waiting for yet another trademark Phillips quote to remember this one by.