Wade Phillips a candidate to be Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator

The Cleveland Browns are putting their new coaching staff together and Mary Kay Cabot says that Wade Phillips could be targeted to be their defensive coordinator

One of the longest-tenured NFL coaches wants to keep going, and the Cleveland Browns could be interested in his services. Wade Phillips has been in the NFL since 1976 and has been with 11 franchises.

He could be making it 12 as the Browns are rumored to be interested in bringing him in as the defensive coordinator on Kevin Stefanski’s new staff.

This news was first reported by Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, who also pointed out that Phillips’ defensive scheme could lead to some personnel changes going forward.

Cabot also points out that Phillips has been the head coach of six different NFL teams, which is a league-high.

Most recently, he was the defensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams and could be entering a similar situation in Cleveland. When he was first hired by Los Angeles in 2017, he was joining a rookie head coach who was known for his offensive prowess — Sean McVay.

At the time of his hiring, McVay was just 31-years old and was able to lean on Phillips’ experience while leaving the defensive side of the ball in his hands. Newly hired Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is a 37-year-old former offensive coordinator who could benefit from someone with the experience Phillips brings.

The 72-year old Phillips was with the Denver Broncos as a defensive coordinator in 2015 when they won Super Bowl 50. He also helped the Rams make it to Super Bowl 53, and while they lost to the New England Patriots, his unit held Tom Brady and company to just 13 points.

Phillips was also a head coach for the New Orleans Saints, the Denver Broncos (back in 1993 and 1994 which was his first stint with the team), the Buffalo Bills, the Atlanta Falcons and then finally the Dallas Cowboys in 2007-2010.