Lions: Three Defensive Coordinators Detroit Needs to Consider

Wade Phillips

I know, earlier, I mentioned Paul P being 70-years old, so why should I suggest a 72-year old Wade Phillips?  I understand the reader who is shaking their head right now but hear me out for a second.

Sure, Wade Phillips isn’t likely the ideal choice, but he could benefit the Detroit Lions and, more importantly, Matt Patricia in a couple of different aspects of the game.  When Sean McVay brought in Wade Phillips from the Denver Broncos, he mentioned it would allow him to focus on the offense in which he calls, understanding Phillips is essentially another head coach on the staff who can make decisions. At the same time, McVay is sitting on the bench with Jared Goff looking at a tablet.

Sure, Matt Patricia is a defensive-minded coach and will be heavily involved in the play calling, scheming, and substitutions, but Patricia seems to struggle mightily, making simple coaching decisions.  He needs to vastly improve his clock management, including when to use the teams’ timeouts.

Having Wade Phillips on the staff would allow Patricia to operate as an actual head coach and help the defense rather than entirely focus on that side of the ball, leaving the many other duties of a head coach to suffer.

Wade Phillips at 72 is still very crafty; he can call multiple styles of defense. Detroit doesn’t just play in a 3-4 or 4-3.  Their base look will include either at any given time, Phillips has seen it all.  He may also help diagram better stunts upfront, maybe add in some exotic looks to create a much-needed pass-rush. Similar to Wilks, Phillips likes to create pressure aggressively.

Last season the Rams were blown out a few times, but after Jalen Ramsey was added, the defense became stable, and the Rams started to win.  Although they failed to reach the playoffs just a year removed from reaching the Super Bowl, the Rams finished the season with a 9-7 record.

They have the misfortune of playing in the highly competitive NFC West with the 49ers finishing 13-3 and Seattle 11-5.

Wade Phillips’ defense finished the year ranked 13th in the league.  They were 10th defending the pass and 15th versus the run. There is no guarantee Phillips will be fired, but it was highly rumored Sean McVay was interested in a change at the conclusion of the season. If he becomes available, the Lions should consider bringing him in for a year or two to stabilize this defense.

Dante Fowler mentioned he’d love to play for Phillips for his entire career.  He’s coming off of a career-best in sacks.  Aaron Donald said playing for Phillips was a blessing.

Players like him, he’s still good at what he does, let’s bring him into Motown.