Wade Phillips named defensive assistant coach of the year

ENGLEWOOD, Colo – Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips was named co-assistant coach of the year by the Pro Football Writers of America on Thursday morning.

.@PFWAwriters take notice of @sonofbum's work with #Broncos' defense https://t.co/eNPdAFIvRw pic.twitter.com/jaC0qWTv13

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 21, 2016

Hue Jackson, former Cincinnati offensive coordinator and new Cleveland Browns head coach, shares the other half of the honor.

Phillips’ defense finished first overall in a plethora of categories during the regular season, including overall defense, the first time the Broncos have done that in franchise history.

The Broncos DC used aggressive play-calling to get the most out of his top-tier pass rushers, DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller and trusted his top-tier corners, Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib on the back end. All four of those players were named to the Pro Bowl.

Having won the award in 2011 with the Texans, Phillips joins Dom Capers (Pittspburgh, 1994 + Jacksonville, 1999) and Dick LeBeau (Pittsburgh 2004, 2008) as the only two-time winners of the award, which originated in 1993.