XFL 2023: Wade Phillips is back in football with Houston Roughnecks

ARLINGTON, Texas — In one of the Houston Roughnecks' first team meetings in January following the revived XFL's launch, a new, yet familiar, face addressed his players.

Wade Phillips, who despite being 75 is still proudly known as the Son of Bum, a nod to his Stetson-sporting father, a Texas icon who brought the Houston Oilers to the cusp of a Super Bowl title in the 1970s, is a head coach again after wondering if he'd ever get another opportunity to coach at all.

Phillips spoke to his new team in a big meeting room underneath Choctaw Stadium, a baseball field that formerly was the home of the Texas Rangers, just a short walk from AT&T Stadium, where one of Phillips' old teams, the Dallas Cowboys, play.

When he got up to speak, with every player, coach and support staff member in attendance, one assistant said the room was completely silent, with every player «locked in» on Phillips, note pads or iPads in hand.

He told the team he believed in the XFL's motto, «where dreams meet opportunity.» But those weren't just reserved for the players. It was personal for him, too.

«Coach Wade is a Houston legend. He has all gears running,» said Alex Myres, a Roughnecks defensive back and Houston-area native who played at the University of Houston. «When he came in and told everybody that this is an amazing opportunity for him as well, that put a lot of things in perspective for me and for a lot of guys. It was go time at that point. Everybody understood why we're all here.»

Phillips hadn't coached since getting fired by the Los Angeles Rams in Jan. 2020, and was vocal about being open to all opportunities. For this one to come along, about 90 miles from where he grew up in Southeast Texas — where he later played linebacker at the