Bum Phillips, RIP

Former Houston Oilers football coach Oail Andrew “Bum” Phillips Jr. has died at age 90. It’s pretty much impossible for anyone who didn’t grow up in Houston during the “Luv Ya Blue” era of of the Earl Campbell Oilers to tell you how much Phillips meant to the city. He may be the most beloved NFL coach never to even reach a Superbowl. Bud Adams firing Philips (and then trading Campbell to New Orleans for a sack of doorknobs) was one of the many, many, many things Oilers owner Bud Adams did to earn the enmity of the city he would eventually deprive of the Oilers.

Philips was an ornery cuss, but a classy one, and 100% Texan. He will be missed.

Edited to Add: Oiler player tributes to Bum. “Everybody loved Bum.”

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 18th, 2013 at 10:56 PM and is filed under football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Bum Phillips, RIP”

  1. Obit watch « Whipped Cream Difficulties says:
    October 19, 2013 at 6:36 AM

    […] Edited to add: More. […]

  2. 1,000 spoons when all you need is a knife. « Whipped Cream Difficulties says:
    October 21, 2013 at 1:54 PM

    […] man who fired Bum Philips and traded Earl Campbell for a “sack of doorknobs” (to steal Lawrence‘s phrase), has passed away at […]

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