NFL legend joins seven other honorees at February 21 banquet in Waco
WACO, TX – February XX, 2017 – The Texas Sports Hall of Fame (TSHOF) counts coaching legend Wade Phillips among its 2017 class. Wade, along with seven other exceptional athletes, will be formally recognized and inducted into the TSHOF on Tuesday, February, 21 in Waco, Texas.
Wade, an Orange, TX native, has been around football his entire life. Son of Bum Phillips, football is in his blood. Wade played linebacker at Port Neches-Groves High School in Port Neches, Texas before playing collegiate football at the University of Houston, where he was a three-year starter.
He began his coaching career at University of Houston as Graduate Assistant and then moved back to Orange and became the Defensive Coordinator for Orange High School.
“When I talked to Jay Black from the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, I choked up. It’s one of those things that when you grow up in Texas, you know about – especially when your dad’s in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. I wasn’t a great athlete, but I think coaching is important and to be recognized as a coach, because I feel like coaches do a lot for people and especially players. Being from Texas, this is extremely special to me and even though I’ve been out of the state a lot – I’m always a Texan.”
Next, Wade became the Assistant Linebackers coach at Oklahoma State University from 1973-1974 before heading north to University of Kansas as their Defensive Line coach.
Wade began his professional coaching career with the Houston Oilers under his father. After five years with the Oilers, Wade took his first Defensive Coordinator position with the New Orleans Saints coaching with his father again.
From 1989-2006, Wade has held multiple NFL coaching positions, including Head Coaching stints and Defensive Coordinator positions with the Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, and San Diego Chargers before coming back to Texas to become the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys until 2010.
In his first season with the Houston Texans in 2011, he took the 30th ranked defense to No. 2 in the NFL.
Wade returned to the Broncos in 2015 as their Defensive Coordinator and had a pinnacle moment in his 46 years of coaching by orchestrating a phenomenal defensive performance in Super Bowl 50 that led to a Broncos victory.
Phillips added to his legacy by being named the 2011 and 2015 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year. He also received the Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman Award from the PFWA in 2016 (lifetime achievement as an NFL assistant coach).
Wade has been a part of 20 different top-10 defensive units during his NFL career and has coached a total of 30 Pro-Bowlers.
Presented by Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, Wade will join seven other inductees at the February event including former Houston Cougars NCAA women’s volleyball player Rita Buck-Crockett, former Texas A&M & Los Angeles Rams defensive back Dave Elmendorf, Texas A&M University track & field coach Pat Henry, former Houston Cougars NCAA women’s volleyball player Flo Hyman (deceased), 2008 Olympic all-around gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin, former University of Texas dual sport athlete Eric Metcalf and former Dallas Cowboys All Pro safety Darren Woodson. This class joins a long list of Texas sport legends forever being honored as members of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
The February 21 event will begin with a reception at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame at 4 p.m., with a 6 p.m. banquet at the Waco Convention Center. Combination Reception/Banquet tickets are $200 each or $1,400 for a reserved table of eight. Banquet-only tickets can be purchased for $75 each, or $600 for a reserved table of eight. To purchase tickets, please call the museum at 800-567-9561 or visit http://www.tshof.org/buy-tickets/
For additional information on Dave or any of the other inductees, please contact Adrian Patenaude, apatenaude@crosswindpr.com, or Jay Black, jay.black@tshof.org.
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About the Texas Sports Hall of Fame
The Texas Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Waco, Texas, chronicles the heroes and legends of the Lone Star State sports at all levels, including high school standouts, Olympians and professionals. Established in 1993, the organization’s mission is to preserve the legacies of all inductees and the history of sports in Texas to educate and inspire guests of all ages. Home to over 300 Texas Legends, the museum houses the Texas Tennis Museum and Hall of Fame and Texas High School Football Hall of Fame. The Texas Sports Hall of Fame is located at 1108 S. University Parks Dr. Waco, Texas 76706. For more information, please visit http://www.tshof.org/.
