Ex-Eagles aide Wade Phillips lauds Buddy Ryan

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Wade Phillips called defensive plays for Buddy Ryan during his three years with the Eagles, but Ryan would still interject, especially when the opposing offense picked up a first down.

"If they made a first down, [Ryan] said, 'Blitz!' " Phillips recalled on Wednesday from the Super Bowl. "He said, 'Blitz 'em!' OK, Coach. Any time they made a first down he was going to blitz them."

Phillips chuckled at the thought. But the 68-year-old Broncos coordinator, who has achieved a similar amount of acclaim as a defensive whiz, said the former Eagles coach had a great impact on his career.

For his first 12 seasons as an NFL assistant, Phillips worked under his father, the legendary Bum Phillips. But Bum retired after the 1985 season. That's when Ryan, fresh off his Super Bowl-winning success with the Bears, called.

"I thought, 'Man, this is a great opportunity,' " said Phillips, who helmed the league's top defense in 2015. "The 'in' thing in the league at that time was the Bears defense. I learned a whole lot from Buddy. A whole different scheme than what we'd been running before."

Phillips ran a 3-4 with the Oilers and Saints and still does. Ryan favored a 4-3 front in his famous "46" defense. He also played man-to-man coverage almost exclusively. Phillips came from a zone background.

"The last year we were there, I got him to play some zone because we had such a great four-man rush with Clyde [Simmons], Jerome [Brown], Reggie White and some guy named [Mike] Golic," Phillips said.

Phillips said that what he took most from Ryan was his ability to rush the passer and free up defenders against any protection scheme.

"Buddy was a true genius as far as defensive football," Phillips said.

Some have said the same of Phillips, who has yet to win a Super Bowl at any level of coaching. He's been a head coach three times, a coordinator eight times and fired more times than he cares to remember. He spent 2014 out of football, but when John Elway called Phillips a year ago, the Broncos vice president of football operations liked what heard.

"He said, 'My goal is to be the greatest defensive coordinator in the history of the NFL,'" Elway said. "I liked that statement."

The NFL works in mysterious ways.

Evan Mathis might not have ever got his opportunity to start with the Eagles had it not been for Ryan Harris' back woes. Four years later, they found themselves blocking next to each other for the Broncos.

"Every NFL player's story is unique and I'm no different," Harris said.

In 2011, the Eagles signed Harris to a one-year contract. Top pick Danny Watkins was already behind because of the lockout and the team needed depth. But it didn't take long untill Harris was starting at right tackle.

His back started flaring up, however, and he eventually needed season-ending surgery. To compensate for the loss - and Watkins' slow development - the Eagles moved Todd Herremans from left guard to right tackle and promoted Mathis to left guard.

"So indirectly, the butterfly effect, Ryan not being able to play right tackle had a lot to do with me getting my start in Philly," Mathis said on Wednesday.

Mathis, of course, went on to become a two-time Pro Bowler. Harris, on the other hand, briefly returned to the Broncos - the team that drafted him - before stints with the Texans and Chiefs. When left tackle Ryan Clady tore his ACL in May, Denver brought back Harris for a third stint and he's started every game since.

When Mathis signed with the Broncos in August, he actually had to remind Harris of their previous connection.

"I told him he still owes me money," Harris joked. "Him and Todd Herremans. But what are you going to do?"

Mathis said he pays him back every play they block.

"I give him a lot of communication and a lot of help on double teams," Mathis said. "We play really well together."

Broncos director of pro personnel Tom Heckert won't be able to attend Sunday's game because of a blood disorder that's placed him on medical leave for the second half of the season, a team spokesman said.

Heckert, formerly the Eagles general manager, told 9News in Denver that the condition is "very treatable." He had heart surgery four years ago while he was the Browns GM.

- Jeff McLane