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Mel Phillips enters his 23rd season as a coach for the Dolphins. During his first 11 years with the club, Phillips served as defensive backs coach. His 22 straight seasons with the same team is tied for the second-longest current streak among NFL position coaches, trailing only Cincinnati running backs coach Jim Anderson (1984), and tied with Detroit defensive assistant Don Clemons.
Phillips has helped the Dolphins finish in the top eight in the NFL in pass defense seven of the last nine seasons, including a No. 1 finish in 2001 (176.8 ypg) and a No. 2 finish in 2004 (162.0 ypg). In 2006, they allowed 187.9 yards per game through the air, the fifth-lowest figure in the NFL. They accomplished this feat although the unit consisted of four new starters from 2005, including strong safety Yeremiah Bell, who was in his first season as an NFL starter.
In 2005, Phillips presided over a unit that consisted of three new starters from the previous season, including one rookie. They yielded an average of only 6.71 yards per pass play, the third-lowest figure in the AFC and sixth in the NFL. Travis Daniels, a fourth-round draft choice, started 14 games, tied for the most by a rookie cornerback in team history, along with Curtis Johnson (1970).
Under Phillips, Dolphins defensive backs have had a knack for coming up with the big play, having returned 16 interceptions or fumbles for touchdowns over the last 12 years. In Phillips’ 22 previous seasons, the team’s defensive backs have brought back a total of 27 interceptions or fumbles for touchdowns.
Since 2000, three different Dolphins defensive backs have been selected for the Pro Bowl a total of ten times, including three-fourths of the backfield in 2002 when cornerbacks Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain, as well as free safety Brock Marion were chosen. In fact, Madison and Surtain are the only cornerbacks in Dolphins history to earn Pro Bowl honors.
In 1998, Miami registered an NFL-high 29 interceptions, the second-most in team history, trailing only the 32 from 1978. In 2000, Phillips’ unit again led the league in interceptions, snaring 28 enemy passes, including an AFC-high seven by strong safety Brian Walker. Madison and Marion were voted to the AFC Pro Bowl squad, the first time since 1974 that two Dolphins defensive backs were chosen for the Pro Bowl in the same season. All four starters in Miami’s secondary tallied at least five interceptions in 2000, as the Dolphins became the first NFL team since the 1981 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to have at least four players record five or more interceptions in the same season. In 2001, for just the third time in club history, the Dolphins led the NFL in pass defense as they allowed an average of only 176.8 yards per contest. In 2004, the Dolphins permitted just 2,592 net passing yards, the best performance by the Dolphins in a 16-game season.
Before coming to Miami in 1985, Phillips previously held the same position for five seasons with the Detroit Lions (1980-84).
A native of Shelby, N.C., Phillips played 12 seasons for the San Francisco 49ers (1966-77), including eight as a starter at strong safety. A tenacious hitter during his playing days, his career statistics include 10 interceptions for 106 return yards (including a 35-yard TD in 1970). Phillips twice won the 49ers’ Len Eshmont Award, symbolic of the team’s most valuable player. Following his retirement from the 49ers, Phillips worked for the city of San Francisco’s juvenile probation department until joining the Lions.
Collegiately, Phillips attended North Carolina A&T, where he played both ways as a defensive back and a running back. As a senior, he rushed for 648 yards and 11 touchdowns on 100 carries, and also caught 19 passes for 277 yards and four scores. That season (1965), A&T won the conference championship and Phillips intercepted two passes and rushed for two TDs in the title game. Phillips also lettered for the swimming and track teams at A&T.
Mel and his wife, Patricia, have two daughters, Paulette and Yvette and live in Miami Lakes. | 