Ex-Bills Head Coach Hit With Unexpected Setback

Former Buffalo Bills head coach Wade Phillips is taking an unexpected break from his newest gig.

Phillips found success in spring football after leaving the NFL, taking coaching jobs in the XFL and newly merged UFL, where he led the San Antonio Brahmas to the championship game in the league’s inaugural season last year.

But the team announced this week that Phillips would be taking a leave of absence for personal reasons, leaving it unclear when he might return.

UFL Praises Wade Phillips

Phillips served as defensive coordinator and then head coach of the Bills, leading the team to two playoff berths in his three seasons in the late 1990s. He later coached the Dallas Cowboys with interim head coaching stints with the Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans.

Phillips left the NFL to become the head coach of the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks before taking a job with the UFL’s Brahmas. He led the team to a 7-3 record last season and a trip to the title game, where they lost to the Birmingham Stallions.

UFL president and CEO Russ Brandon — who spent close to two decades with the Bills and overlapped with Phillips at the beginning of his tenure — released a statement praising the longtime coach.

“The UFL is extremely grateful for the leadership that Wade has delivered to the UFL as head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas,” Brandon said in a statement with UFL executive V.P. of football operations Daryl Johnston. “The credibility that he has brought to the UFL as a Head Coach validates what we are building as a league. This coaching legend has the respect of everyone in the league as well as throughout the entire football community for his dedication and accomplishments as a coach for over 50 years.”

The statement did not give a timeline on how long Phillips could be out, but hinted that his job in San Antonio could be waiting for him when he returns.

“If and when Wade is ready to return to the sidelines, the entire UFL Family will be there to cheer him on,” the statement read.

Wade Phillips Had Controversial Exit From Buffalo

Though Phillips led the Bills to playoff berths in 1998 and 1999, he was fired following the 2000 season after refusing to fire his special teams coach. Team owner Ralph Wilson said that he didn’t want to fire Phillips, but felt forced to when Phillips refused to part ways with first-year special teams coach Ronnie Jones.

“Buffalo special teams’ record was among the worst in the National Football League last season,” Wilson said, via ESPN. “I felt we needed a change and that my request was reasonable … I did not want to release Wade but his refusal left me with no option.”

After Phillips was fired, the Bills struggled through a series of head coaches and saw their playoff drought extend to 17 seasons. It came to an end in 2017 when the team hired current head coach Sean McDermott. The team reached the playoffs that year, and since 2019 has made it six straight years, including five straight AFC East titles.