SUPER BOWL 53: Phillips dons father’s jacket on arrival in Atlanta

Published 3:20 pm Monday, January 28, 2019

Wade Phillips wore Los Angeles Rams travel gear to Atlanta, where the team will take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 53 on Sunday.

On top of the outfit was something a little more legendary.

Phillips, the Rams’ defensive coordinator who graduated from Port Neches-Groves in 1965, also donned his father’s cowboy jacket and a cowboy hat upon arriving at Atlanta’s airport when the Rams tweeted a photo of him Sunday evening with a message: “Like a boss.”

Bum Phillips made the jacket iconic when he wore it on the sidelines as the Houston Oilers’ coach in the 1970s. Wade Phillips was an assistant for Bum in Houston (1975-80) and in New Orleans (1981-85), earning his first head coaching gig as the Saints’ interim chief with four games left in 1985. The Oilers made two AFC championship apperances, both losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1978 and 1979 seasons.

Bum Phillips, who was born Oail Andrew Phillips, was head coach at Nederland High School from 1951-56 and at PNG from 1963-64.

As of 3:09 p.m. Monday, the tweet drew more than 1,500 retweets, more than 10,000 likes and 309 messages.

About I.C. Murrell

I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

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