CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- Wade Phillips cracked jokes about his fractured rib on Thursday. His sense of humor remained the same, but his health is not. The Broncos defensive coordinator continues to deal with pain after San Diego running back Melvin Gordon ran him over last Sunday.
Phillips said he received a pain injection, and might coach at Oakland from the press box for only the second time as a defensive coordinator.
"If I am going to go out, I'd like to go out on an interception for a touchdown," Phillips said Thursday. "If that was my last play, I would have been all right."
Phillips admitted the nature of the play helped lead to the collision. Roby intercepted the pass and headed up the Broncos' sideline. Von Miller blocked Gordon to prevent him from tackling Roby, or even attempting to. It knocked him full speed into Phillips, who said "none of us were able to get out of the way," Phillips said.
The last time Phillips coached from the press box was in 2012 after having his gall bladder removed and a kidney issue corrected. The fact Phillips can communicate directly into the helmet of the defensive play caller Brandon Marshall from the box could make the transition easier.
For the 69-year-old Phillips, the incident did little to squelch his enthusiasm for the job. He loves his position, even if he looked like he played last Sunday, walking gingerly from his press conference. At least he didn't enter the concussion protocol.
"They examined my head and didn't find anything," Phillips said as his final wisecrack.
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