When the Denver Broncos head to Nashville this Sunday for their week 14 matchup against the 6-6 Tennessee Titans, the defensive coordinators for the two teams will have a combined 97 years of NFL coaching and playing experience.
Take a second to think about that; nearly a century of football life, split between just two men.
As Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and his counterpart for the Tennessee Titans Dick LeBeau ready their units for battle, there is no shortage of conscious esteem for the two coaches within both organizations in preparation for Sunday’s contest.
Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak knows both men well. His years spent coaching alongside and against Phillips, accompanied by the numerous encounters with LeBeau during his years as the defensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers give the coach a keen sense as to why the two men have lasted as long as they have in the daunting business that is the NFL.
“I was in Baltimore, and we played Dick three times in one year,” Kubiak remembered. “He’s a special person. You look at him and Wade and how long they’ve been doing it and how well they continue to do it. With all these young kids running around, how well they continue to relate to these young kids and push the right buttons, it’s very impressive. It’s been fun as a coach through the years with [former Broncos head coach] Mike [Shanahan]. I can’t even count the number of times I went against Dick in Pittsburgh. A lot of respect for him.”
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Mularkey, too, has had his share of square-offs against the opposing defensive play caller. Mularkey faced Phillips’ defenses and teams both as a tight end during his playing days as well as his multiple coaching stints around the league. To say he knows how tough of a challenge Phillips’ defense will be would be a vast understatement.
“Look, Wade Phillips has been around a long time. He knows what our identity and our philosophy is,” Mularkey explained. “That’s one thing about him; he’s not a very complicated guy. He does some things on third down. Everybody does exotic defenses on third down, but when it comes to first and second down, he’s not going to hide, especially when you’ve got guys that can play the things that they’re doing.”
Phillips, who is in his 39th season of coaching in the league, has come in contact with some of the greatest assistant and head coaches of all-time during his years. He told Denver media this week that LeBeau, who is in his mind-boggling 58th season as both a coach and player in the NFL, is second to none in his book.
“He’s coached a long time and has been a great coach,” Phillips expressed. “He’s really the mastermind of a zone blitz. He’s continued to do well with that throughout his career. He’s in the Hall of Fame as a player, but really he should be in the Hall of Fame as a coach, too. He’s tremendous. If they ever put assistant coaches in the Hall of Fame, he would be one that I would put in for sure.”
Though the two men’s defensive units will not exchange blows face-to-face this Sunday in Music City, the simple fact that both are still thriving in such a demanding profession is nothing short of astonishing. This week’s outcome could very well depend on defensive play and efficiency. Luckily for both the Broncos and Titans, they each will have two of the top defensive coaching minds of all-time steering their respective ships.
