F*ck Bum Phillips...

Excellent thread. Great posts jeanpierre, skymike, and Hagan.

Big fan of Bum here.
Yall are forgetting that at the time he was here, Bum was the winningest coach in Saints history. Not saying much, I know, but he did raise the Saints up from the BagHead Era, into a respectable team that could, on any given day, beat playoff teams like the Rams, Raiders, or Dolphins, and even the 49ers.

He gave the Saints their first sniff of playoffs, and dont tell me you didnt think we had a shot at the Postseason. Just do a little YouTube, and look again at the Saints Mania that had taken over. Or have you forgotten Harrison Ave/"Go Saints all the Way, I believe?" Remind me, when the WhoDat chant began? Remember the huge caravans of fans who took over Fulton Co, Texas Stadium (It sounded like a Saints home game there), and the Astrodome? Even the national pundits, again, youtube it, we're, for the first time, giving the Saints some love, and were loving New Orleans.

Bum was a super-respected defensive innovator, and his ideas are still used in today's NFL, in, for instance, well, the LATEST SUPER BOWL. I used to think Buddy Ryan was the greatest defensive innovator, with Bum a close 2nd, but if we look how it's played out with Ryan & Phillips progeny, Bum is the clear winner. He came into two cities with hopeless teams, and turned them around immediately, changing the culture, players, and fan bases too.

We owe Rickey Jackson, Frank Warren, and a good number of players who went on to help Jim Mora win, to Bums personnel skills. I was not a fan of Stabler, either, but he really was a great offensive leader, just had no juice left. Also there was no way to know Earl Campbell had a degenerative disorder that would take him from, I believe the greatest runner ever, into an ordinary man.

Bum's Oilers had already beaten the Cowboys in '78, and he would have had a Super Bowl Ring, if not for the Steelers-- the only team in the NFL, he, nor anyone else, could master. He laid the groundwork for Bobby Hebert, (also needlessly maligned IMO), who at one time was our winningest QB, and the first real shot we had, since Archie had no support. I think had Bum stuck it out long enough for Bobby to develop, we would have won it all, with that world class defense, plus a solid, game management, ground it out offense.

Bum's the reason I'm a Saints fan, and agree with me, or not, at one time, he brought respectability to the NFL's worst team. But the#1 reason you should re-think Bum, and take a knee TONIGHT to thank the Lord for his tobacco chewing self. Wade. If Bum doesnt bring his great defensive innovations to the NFL, pass them along to Wade, along with his work habits, and leadership. If it wasnt for Bum, people, Cam Newton would have won the Super Bowl, and he would still be dancing around in our face.

You might think I'm full O' Crap. I like you anyway.
WhoDat! (which btw, began in '83. Remind me who was the Saints head coach?)