[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16296-16297]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     TRIBUTE TO OAIL ANDREW ``BUM'' PHILLIPS, TEXAS ICON, HOMESPUN 
         PHILOSOPHER, AND LEGENDARY COACH OF THE HOUSTON OILERS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 28, 2013

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to inform the House of the sad 
news that America has lost one of the most beloved, successful, and 
colorful coaches in the history of the National Football League. Oail 
Andrew ``Bum'' Phillips passed away last Friday, October 18, 2013, at 
his ranch home in Goliad, Texas. He was 90 years old.
  The Houston Oilers was not a very good team when Bum Phillips was 
named head coach and general manager in 1975. In fact, they were one of 
the worst teams in the league. But within the space of three short 
years, Bum turned the Oilers into a powerhouse and transformed the 
downtrodden franchise into one of the most popular and entertaining 
teams in the NFL.
  Along the way, Bum Phillips' mastery of the one-liner endeared 
himself to his fans and the media. He once quipped in response to a 
question about the Dallas Cowboys, ``that other team up North'': ``The 
Dallas Cowboys may be America's team but the Houston Oilers are Texas's 
team!'' On another occasion, when he was asked to describe the great 
Earl Campbell, his star running back, he said: ``He may not be in a 
class all by himself, but it don't take long to call the roll.''
  As coach of the Houston Oilers, Bum Phillips was the winningest coach 
in franchise history (59-38 record), leading the team to the American 
Football Conference Championship game in 1978 and 1979 but losing each 
time to the eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.
  Who can ever forget the sight of Bum Phillips patrolling the 
sidelines with his trademark buzz cut, decked out in work shirt, blue 
jeans, cowboy boots, and white Stetson, which he wore except when the 
Oilers played in the Astrodome? Asked to explain why he did not wear 
his cowboy hat in the Astrodome, Bum replied: ``Mama always said that 
if it can't rain on you, you're indoors.''
  Oail Andrew Phillips was born on September 29, 1923, in Orange, 
Texas, the son of a truck driver, also named Oail, which is pronounced 
``Awl.'' He got his nickname when his

[[Page 16297]]

younger sister, Edrina, tried to say ``brother,'' only to have it come 
out as ``bumble'' and later ``bum.'' In recounting the story, Bum 
remarked, ``I don't mind being called Bum, just as long as you don't 
put a `you' in front of it.''
  Bum Phillips played football at Lamar College in Beaumont, Texas but 
left to serve in the Marines during World War II. Upon his return he 
played for Stephen F. Austin State College in Nacogdoches, Texas, 
graduating in 1949. He then embarked upon a career coaching high school 
football in Texas. In 1958, he was hired as an assistant coach by Texas 
A&M head coach Paul ``Bear'' Bryant, who would go on to become the 
legendary coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. In 1962, Bum Phillips was 
the head coach of Texas Western University (now the University of Texas 
at El Paso).
  Three years later in 1965, Bum Phillips made the jump to professional 
football when he was named defensive coordinator for the Houston Oilers 
of the American Football League. In 1967 he was hired by San Diego 
Chargers head coach Sid Gillman to be his defensive assistant and in 
1974 followed Gillman back to the Houston Oilers as the team's 
defensive coordinator, replacing him as head coach the following year.
  Bum Phillips' Oilers teams were known for their physical style of 
play and outstanding defense anchored by Robert Brazile and future Hall 
of Famers Elvin Bethea and Curley Culp. Bum was a ``players coach''; 
his players loved him because he kept them fresh by shunning overly 
long practices and encouraged camaraderie.
  The unquestioned leader and star of the team was running back Earl 
Campbell, the 1977 Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Texas 
and the first player selected in the 1978 NFL draft. The ``Tyler 
Rose,'' who still holds every major Oilers rushing record and is one of 
the greatest running backs in NFL history, also would go on to be 
enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
  About Earl Campbell, who ushered in the ``Luv Ya Blue!' era and 
dazzled a Monday Night Football national television audience with a 
breathtaking display of speed and power in rushing for 221 yards and 
leading the Oilers to a wild 35-30 victory over the Miami Dolphins, Bum 
Phillips once said: ``That young man is the difference between losing 
your job and winning the national championship.''
  After 5 years as head coach of the Oilers, Bum Phillips was offered 
and accepted the head coaching job of the New Orleans Saints, whom he 
almost led to the playoffs for the first time in the history of that 
franchise. In 1985 he resigned as coach of the Saints but remained 
connected to the game by working as a TV and radio analyst for the 
Oilers. Asked what he planned to do in his retirement, Bum said, 
``Nothing. And I don't start before noon!''
  In addition to his wife Debbie, Bum Phillips is survived by his son, 
Wade, a former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, the Denver Broncos and 
the Buffalo Bills, and five daughters from a previous marriage, Susan, 
Cicely, Dee Jean, Andrea and KimAnn; many grandchildren and great-
grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, more than three decades have passed since Bum Phillips 
strolled the sidelines of the Astrodome as the head coach of the Oilers 
and the beloved leader of ``Luv Ya Blue!'' Nation, but he will always 
be remembered as the man who put the Oilers on the map and embodied the 
spirit and civic pride of Houston, the greatest city in the greatest 
country in the only world we know.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask for a moment of silence in memory of Oail Andrew 
``Bum'' Phillips.
  Luv Ya Blue!

                          ____________________