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http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...defensive-special-teams-coordinators-25-years
In Week 1, the Los Angeles Rams became the first team in NFL history to record two interception-return touchdowns and a safety in their season-opener. It was a big coming-out party for the new-look Rams and their 3-4 scheme, coordinated by one of the greatest assistant coaches in NFL history: Wade Phillips. Week 2 didn't go quite as swimmingly, but it's clear that Phillips has had a significant impact on the team -- and very quickly.
Phillips' record as a head coach is not as bad as you think: 82-64, with five playoff appearances. But it is as a defensive coordinator that he is legendary. His ferocious pass rushes were part of playoff teams from San Diego to Dallas to Houston. In the greatest years of his career, he ran one of the greatest defenses in history for the Denver Broncos and dragged a depleted Peyton Manning to a Super Bowl title.
We wanted to pay tribute to Phillips and the other great coordinators who move from team to team, building strong units wherever they go. So we looked at our DVOA ratings from the past 25 years to determine which coordinators had the best historical record. (DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average, is explained here.)
We set some ground rules to make sure we didn't end up with coordinators who were good only because of the players they had at one stop. Coordinators had to work for at least three franchises, and we removed those who ranked well solely because of one team. (Monte Kiffin is a good example; his Tampa defenses were legendary, but he had poor one-year stops with the 1995 Saints and 2013 Cowboys.)
Also, we're looking here only at coordinators when they served as coordinators. Sometimes head coaches also fill their own coordinator roles, but we left out years in which he filled only the head-coach job So no Dom Capers in Carolina or Josh McDaniels in Denver, though we do mention some of those performances in our commentary. Our rundown begins with defense instead of offense so we can start with the Son of Bum.
Defense
1. Wade Phillips
Tenure: 16 years, average rank 11.6
Teams coached: 1992 Broncos, 1995-97 Bills, 2002-03 Falcons, 2004-06 Chargers, 2009-10 Cowboys, 2011-13 Texans, 2015-16 Broncos, 2017 Rams
Nobody rebuilds a defense like Wade Phillips. His record is not just one of good defense, but of improved defense. He took the Falcons defense from 26th to 12th in 2001. He took the Chargers defense from 30th to 13th in 2003. And he took the Texans defense -- with some help from rookie J.J. Watt, of course -- from 31st to sixth in 2010. Then he took the Broncos to No. 1 in our defensive rankings in both 2015 and 2016.
And Phillips' record looks even better if we extend our analysis past just 25 years. From 1986-88 with the Eagles and 1989-91 with the Broncos, he coordinated five top-five defenses in six seasons.
Aaron SchatzSpecial to ESPN.com
***********************************************************************************************************
In Wade we trust
In Week 1, the Los Angeles Rams became the first team in NFL history to record two interception-return touchdowns and a safety in their season-opener. It was a big coming-out party for the new-look Rams and their 3-4 scheme, coordinated by one of the greatest assistant coaches in NFL history: Wade Phillips. Week 2 didn't go quite as swimmingly, but it's clear that Phillips has had a significant impact on the team -- and very quickly.
Phillips' record as a head coach is not as bad as you think: 82-64, with five playoff appearances. But it is as a defensive coordinator that he is legendary. His ferocious pass rushes were part of playoff teams from San Diego to Dallas to Houston. In the greatest years of his career, he ran one of the greatest defenses in history for the Denver Broncos and dragged a depleted Peyton Manning to a Super Bowl title.
We wanted to pay tribute to Phillips and the other great coordinators who move from team to team, building strong units wherever they go. So we looked at our DVOA ratings from the past 25 years to determine which coordinators had the best historical record. (DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average, is explained here.)
We set some ground rules to make sure we didn't end up with coordinators who were good only because of the players they had at one stop. Coordinators had to work for at least three franchises, and we removed those who ranked well solely because of one team. (Monte Kiffin is a good example; his Tampa defenses were legendary, but he had poor one-year stops with the 1995 Saints and 2013 Cowboys.)
Also, we're looking here only at coordinators when they served as coordinators. Sometimes head coaches also fill their own coordinator roles, but we left out years in which he filled only the head-coach job So no Dom Capers in Carolina or Josh McDaniels in Denver, though we do mention some of those performances in our commentary. Our rundown begins with defense instead of offense so we can start with the Son of Bum.
Defense
1. Wade Phillips
Tenure: 16 years, average rank 11.6
Teams coached: 1992 Broncos, 1995-97 Bills, 2002-03 Falcons, 2004-06 Chargers, 2009-10 Cowboys, 2011-13 Texans, 2015-16 Broncos, 2017 Rams
Nobody rebuilds a defense like Wade Phillips. His record is not just one of good defense, but of improved defense. He took the Falcons defense from 26th to 12th in 2001. He took the Chargers defense from 30th to 13th in 2003. And he took the Texans defense -- with some help from rookie J.J. Watt, of course -- from 31st to sixth in 2010. Then he took the Broncos to No. 1 in our defensive rankings in both 2015 and 2016.
And Phillips' record looks even better if we extend our analysis past just 25 years. From 1986-88 with the Eagles and 1989-91 with the Broncos, he coordinated five top-five defenses in six seasons.
Aaron SchatzSpecial to ESPN.com
***********************************************************************************************************
In Wade we trust
