Bum Phillips
The New Orleans Saints may have gotten a steal when Houston Oilers owner Bud Adams fired Bum Phillips after the 1980 season. Becoming the eighth coach in Saints history, Phillips sought out to accomplish what no other coach had: lead the Saints to their first winning season and possibly a playoff berth.
Phillips was the Saints’ general manager, and in his first draft he may have made a mistake. With the No. 1 overall pick, he selected running back George Rogers. It wasn’t that Rogers was bad; after all, he became a Pro Bowler. It’s that the very next pick was linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who became a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a Hall-of-Famer, and did so in the New York Giants’ 3-4 scheme, the same defense Phillips ran.
The Saints went 4-12 in Phillips’ first season, a three-game improvement from 1980. 1982 might have been the season it came together for New Orleans, but a midseason strike cancelled seven games and the Saints finished 4-5. New Orleans went 8-8 and 7-9 in subsequent years.
In 1985, after a 3-2 start, the Saints went on a six-game losing streak. In Week 12, New Orleans beat the Minnesota Vikings 30-23 at the Metrodome, and Phillips retired the next day. His son, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, took over as interim coach.
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