Episode 72: Wade Phillips

Great Dane Nation

On the 72nd episode of “Great Dane Nation,” Morten is joined by legendary defensive coordinator and Super Bowl Champion Wade Phillips (08:05 – 49:24). But first, he checks in with TommyFreezePops (Tom Carroll) for this week’s edition of the “Opening Kick” (01:12 – 07:13). This week, Morten reflects on “Super” Wild Card Weekend, and why adding that 7th team to each side of the bracket doesn’t appear to have been the correct move for competitive balance.
We then move to our interview with Wade Phillips, where he discusses a wide range of topics: why he loves Twitter (09:02); the story behind Wade’s dad Bum drafting Morten in New Orleans, and why Wade was directly responsible for that draft pick (12:19); Bum Phillips’ ability to give great advice to players, and diving into some of Wade’s favorite stories about his dad (16:44); playing for his dad at the University of Houston, and how that led him to a path in coaching (20:37); diving into his philosophy on coaching defense, and why you have to stop the run (24:30); attending a coaching clinic in Berlin, and how the game is continuing to grow in Europe (28:25); why being an interim head coach is an almost impossible task (29:38); why Denver was his favorite head coaching job (31:22); trying to coach the Eagles’ defense during the infamous “Fog Bowl” (33:14); benching Doug Flutie for the Bills’ playoff opener after having a great season as their starter, and why he still thinks the “Music City Miracle” was a forward lateral (34:22); and “The Name Game,” featuring Kenny Stabler, Reggie White, John Elway, Marv Levy, Michael Vick, Von Miller, Peyton Manning and Sean McVay (36:18).
Then we move to a special edition of “Morten’s Fast 5,” where our Hall of Famer makes picks for all four games for the upcoming AFC & NFC Divisional Rounds (50:46 – 01:00:22). Morten gives his picks for Bengals at Titans (52:11), 49ers at Packers (54:41), Rams at Buccaneers (56:03) and Bills at Chiefs (57:29).
Finally, we close things out with “Morten’s Game Winner” – a weekly monologue from The Great Dane on his biggest takeaway of the week. This week, Morten talks about Wade Phillips, the Phillips Family, and how that Texas-mentality has led to so much success on the football field (01:00:22).