Wade Phillips Passed on Interview With Tampa Bay Because Bob McNair Gave Him A Raise?

I know a lot of us suspected that Bob McNair may have convinced Wade Phillips to pass on that scheduled interview with Tampa Bay last January, but we didn't have any confirmation of that suspicion.

Until today, that is, when Paul Kuharsky mentioned ol' Wade in his report about Gary Kubiak and Rick Smith getting contract extensions.

As anyone would when discussing the Texans' success and its effect on Kubiak and Smith's futures, Kuharsky devoted considerable space to how critical Wade Phillips was to the team's tremendous 2011 campaign. In that analysis was this crucial bit of information:

"[Wade Phillips'] finger prints were on the draft selections of J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed, great fits for his system who made giant and immediate contributions. He saw how good Brian Cushing could be inside instead of outside. He voted for the plan that brought in Johnathan Joseph and Danieal Manning.

And, much to the Texans' relief, he took the pay bump McNair gave him late last season to pass on a trip to Tampa Bay to interview for the head coaching job."

Good show, Uncle Bob. While conveying interview tips to Wade may have been cheaper, it doesn't have the same spending power as money.

Next offseason, when yet another team tries to poach our Wade, I recommend McNair installs an ATM in Wade's office that just automatically dispenses $1,000.00 every ten minutes around the clock. Whatever it takes to keep Bum's son here until he decides he doesn't want to coach anymore.