It's important to note that he was the first defensive coordinator for two expansion teams in Houston and Carolina.
Regardless, Phillips was clearly the best choice, even over Fangio. Spare me the "he's too old" or "too soft" baloney. Players clearly respond to him, and his defenses don't appear to have been much less successful the older he's gotten. I'd feel better about our current front office if I knew SmootSmack's suspicion that Phillips wasn't as interested in coming here as has been reported was true, because passing over one of the most successful defensive coaches in the history of the league for a guy that orchestrated back-to-back defenses ranked league-worst in both yards and points is mind-boggling. Yeah, he may not have had much talent in Detroit, but if he's really a better option than Wade or Fangio you'd think he'd at least finish, I dunno, in the top 25 in either category just once? Maybe? For a start? But hey, we got a young guy with "energy" that "wants to prove himself" and has "grown" since his epic failure in Detroit. Yay! And anyway, who am I to think I know better than our front office? Because clearly, they've done an excellent job in their hires up to this point. Let's all pretend like we don't know how this ends.
That felt great.
