People knew of him and his abilities. He didn't have a low profile. But, in 2014, 25 times he was passed over for a job. His resume was not a slouchy one. It included two stints as a head coach and a number of assistant coaching and coordinator jobs. Still, 2014 was a very silent year for him.
I don't know what kind of resolution he made for January 1, 2015, but it could have been to enjoy retirement. Then the end of January happened. The Denver broncos' coach called. It was his boss from 2013. They had been fired together in that year. But, now in 2015, his boss wanted to rewrite their story together.
And rewrite the story they did! Denver won gracefully with aplomb and command last night in the nation's largest sporting event. The game was not a fantastical performance by a spectacular aerial bombardment. Quite the opposite. The points scored for Denver were the work of the defense. You could have guessed that though. This defense was the number one defense in the NFL this year and has often been compared to a few of the other history-making defenses. Denver won because of a coach who recognized players' abilities and meshed eleven talents to form an ironclad defense. The result was holding the NFL's highest scoring offense this season to 10 points.
There were some other media-catching stories in the game and after. Everyone saw those stories. But, this story of Wade Phillips wasn't touted. It was mentioned during the game, but in a small 8 seconds of time. It deserved much more than that. Wade Phillips, you inspire us! You embodied the attitude of never giving up, and even more so, the attitude of being the best with what we've got. Here's my grandest "THANK YOU!" for leaving us this picture of yourself.
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