DMac: Wade Phillips ‘gone’ from Broncos if Redskins make a strong offer

As the Denver Broncos head coaching picture comes into further focus, it appears that defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is becoming less and less a part of the picture.

Sporting News NFL columnist and SiriusXM NFL Radio host Alex Marvez reported Thursday that Broncos defensive backs coach Joe Woods would be promoted to defensive coordinator should Denver hire Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph as its next head coach.

If/when Vance Joseph gets @Broncos HC job, @sn_nfl is told DBs coach Joe Woods would be promoted to DC replacing @sonofbum.

— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 5, 2017

Couple that with the news that with the firing of Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Joe Barry and two members of his staff, Phillips could be headed out of the Mile High City.

Joseph is the frontrunner of a group of at least three candidates for the Denver job, according to 9News Broncos Insider Mike Klis.

The team has interviews set up for Friday and Saturday with Kansas City Chiefs’ special teams coordinator Dave Toub and Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, as both playoff teams are on a bye week. Joseph will be interviewed next week whether or not the Dolphins win its playoff game Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And rumblings among fans have called for Phillips to replace Barry in Washington even before his dismissal Thursday, Grant Paulsen, sports analyst for Fox 5 D.C., told 104.3 The Fan’s “The Drive.”

“Without question, he’s probably the most talked about name over the last couple of weeks as Redskins fans knew that the end was coming for Joe Barry,” said Paulsen, who also hosts a show on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C.

And with Phillips son, Wes, the tight end coach for the Redskins, a reunion in D.C. seems all the more likely, “The Drive” co-host DMac said Thursday.

“As long as the Redskins come with the right amount of money for Wade Phillips, he’s gone. And he’s gone for the right reasons because the ability to coach with your son is very unique …” DMac said, adding that he couldn’t hate on Phillips because “family comes first.”

Paulsen said Phillips would fit in Washington for a variety of reasons, including the team’s wish to stick with a 3-4 defense, which Phillips runs “very well,” along with his involvement with the organization in recent years.

Before he landed in Denver, Phillips would be in the Redskins building often, Paulsen said, and would attend games in support of his son.

“When he was out of football before he got the job in Denver, he would go to every Redskins game to support his son and sit in the crowd,” Paulsen said.

Phillips even documented one such game, in Dallas against the Cowboys, on his Twitter account.

Here I am on the front row pic.twitter.com/pCTX7CIc7Z

— Wade Phillips (@sonofbum) October 27, 2014

In two seasons with Denver, Phillips coached the Broncos defense to the top ranking in the NFL in 2015 on the way to a Super Bowl 50 win and a top 5 finish in 2016.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.