Wade Phillips is a legend of the coaching world, having spent more than 50 years on the sidelines throughout his career – including high school, college and the NFL. He’s also been a coach in the XFL and UFL in the last two years, so his experience is certainly wide-ranging.
At the age of 76, Phillips is still getting the job done. On Sunday, he led the San Antonio Brahmas to a 25-15 win over the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL Conference Championship Game, punching their ticket to the UFL title game next weekend.
It’s the first time Phillips will be the head coach in a league championship game, which shows how long he’s waited to potentially win his first title as a head coach. He did win a Super Bowl with the Broncos as their defensive coordinator and he reached Super Bowl LIII with the Rams while leading their defense, but this is new territory as a head coach.
CHAMPIONS OF THE XFL CONFERENCE! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/7DrBFNPaov
— San Antonio Brahmas (@XFLBrahmas) June 10, 2024
The Brahmas will face the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL Championship next Sunday, June 16, at 5 p.m. ET.
Phillips was the Rams’ defensive coordinator from 2017-2019, spending three years on Sean McVay’s staff. He was a big part of McVay’s first few years in the NFL as a head coach, helping guide the young coach and manage the defense, while McVay primarily focused on building one of the league’s best offenses.