ATLANTA — Wade Phillips doesn’t understand why everybody is so impressed by his ability to bridge generations of people and football knowledge with equal aplomb.

The Los Angeles Rams’ 71-year-old defensive coordinator sees nothing unusual in his ability to quote lyrics from a month-old Future song right after walking off the team plane at the Super Bowl wearing his 10-gallon cowboy hat and an ancient, iconic sheepskin coat once owned by Bum Phillips, his late, great father.

And though he eagerly makes granddad jokes about his advancing age and his millennial boss, Sean McVay, Phillips is undeniably still at the peak of his profession.

The Rams are coming off two outstanding defensive postseason performances as they get ready to face New England and Tom Brady, who had one of the worst outings of his playoff career against Phillips’ defense.

During 41 seasons in the NFL, Phillips has survived multiple firings and several unsuccessful head coaching stints to become a well-traveled defensive mastermind. He isn’t the type to lecture youngsters on his accumulated wisdom, but a few simple truths underline his life’s work.

“You have to be able to adjust,” Phillips said. “You have to learn and grow and get better. That’s what coaching is about. Life, too. The game isn’t waiting around for you. It’s going into the future.”

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Part of Phillips’ future is Future, the Atlanta rapper who gets played in the Rams’ training complex. Phillips says he picked up a few bars from “Rocket Ship” this month and then dropped a verse on a disbelieving Aqib Talib for a team video Monday.

But Phillips also carries the accumulated wisdom of his past into this late-career renaissance.

After making the Super Bowl once in his first 37 seasons of NFL coaching, Phillips is back in the big game for the second time in four seasons. He won his first championship ring with the Denver Broncos just three years ago.

Phillips’ defenses historically have struggled against New England but his Broncos thoroughly stifled the Patriots three years ago to reach the Super Bowl.


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