088-089 Joker Phillips.qxd
6/22/11
10:53 AM
Page 1
THE OFFICIAL 2011 KENTUCKY FOOTBALL YEARBOOK
JOKER PHILLIPS COACHES 2011 Kentucky Football Staff
®
> University of Kentucky head coach
O
ne of J oker Phillips’ goals for the K entucky football team is for his Wildcats to “play fast.” I t’s a philosophy he embraces in coaching as w ell. Phillips has been a bundle of energy since taking over the UK head coaching position on Jan. 6, 2010. From coaching to recruiting to the dozens of personal appearances he has made across the South, Phillips has been tireless in promoting the vision for his passion — Kentucky football. The foundation of his fer vor is easy to see. A nativ e Kentuckian and former Wildcat play er, P hillips is only the fifth K entucky alumnus to become head coach of the Wildcats. Phillips’ appointment also has significance in that he is the Wildcats’ first African-American head football coach and only the second in the history of the Southeastern Conference. Phillips’ first act as head coach was to imprint his personal philosophy, “Operation Win,” on the team — win on the field, win in the classroom and win in the community. Phillips’ energetic star t has led to some positiv e results in r ecruiting and on the field, where Phillips became the first coach in Kentucky history to take a team to a bo wl game in his first season. I n addition, Phillips won mor e games than any first-y ear UK coach since B lanton Collier in 1954.
POINT SCORING MACHINE > Prior to being elev ated to head coach, P hillips was on the staff of Coach Rich B rooks fr om 2003-09, including the last fiv e seasons as offensive coor dinator. N amed offensiv e coor dinator befor e the 2005 season, Phillips made an immediate impact as K entucky improved its scoring average and total offense in each of the first thr ee years under Phillips’ direction. The y early pr ogression r eached its z enith when K entucky scor ed a school-record 475 points during its 13-game schedule in 2007, helping spark the Wildcats to a second consecutiv e M usic City Bo wl championship. UK’s average of 36.5 points per game ranked 15th nationally . Total offense also was a highlight of the ’07 season. UK’ s total offense of 5,764 yar ds was the second highest in school histor y. The average of 443.4 yards per game is four th in UK annals. Phillips was nationally acclaimed following Kentucky’s 43-37 upset of N o. 1 LSU. H e was named N ational Coor dinator of the Week b y Rivals.com and the N ational Offensive Coordinator of the Week by the Master Coaches Survey. Phillips’ offensive style has shown flexibility and balance between the run and the pass. During his time as offensive coordinator, UK has had a 3,000-yard passer (André Woodson, who accomplished the feat twice), two 1,000-yar d r eceivers (K eenan B urton and S teve J ohnson) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Rafael Little, who reached the mark twice). Balance is sho wn b y the fact that K entucky led the SEC in passing yardage in 2007 while also rushing for 2,021 yards, 155.5 yards per game and 4.2 yards per attempt. All thr ee rushing marks were UK’s best in 12 seasons. The ’07 season was the first time in school history that UK averaged at least 250 passing yar ds per game while r ushing for at least 150 yards per game.
88
JOKER PHILLIPS won more games than any first-year UK coach since Blanton Collier in 1954.
As wide receivers coach, Phillips mentored some of the best in school history — B urton, J ohnson, D icky L yons Jr. and D erek A bney. With Burton, Johnson and Lyons leading the way, along with tight end J acob Tamme and tailback Rafael Little, K entucky was the only team in the nation in 2007 that had fiv e players with at least 1,000 r eceiving yards during their careers. Phillips’ position play ers hav e their names etched into the N CAA, SEC and UK record books.
ABILITY TO ADAPT AND ADJUST > After massiv e graduation losses fr om the ’07 squad — losing Woodson, Burton, Johnson, Tamme and Little to the N FL — P hillips showed his ability to adapt and adjust in 2008-09, turning in some of his most astute coaching performances. Injuries, inexperience and a disciplinar y dismissal for ced Phillips and quarterbacks coach Randy S anders to juggle four quar terbacks — M ike
088-089 Joker Phillips.qxd
6/22/11
10:53 AM
Page 2
COACHES 2011 Kentucky Football Staff
Hartline, Randall Cobb , Morgan N ewton and Will Fidler — in 2008 and ’09. Even though there was a rotation of players in the offense’s most important position, P hillips figured out a way to generate enough points to win seven games both seasons. Despite fielding a vir tually ne w offensiv e lineup in 2008 and losing his potential star ting quar terback on the first day of fall practice, P hillips still managed to finish in the top half of the SEC in scoring offense while helping the Wildcats win a third consecutive bowl game. The 2009 season sho wed more of P hillips’ ability to adapt to a changing landscape. After fiv e games, with H artline as the star ting quar terback, Phillips had the perfect balance he was looking for with 167.4 r ushing yards and 167.4 passing yards per game. But when Hartline was injured and a true freshman stepped into the star ting role, the Wildcats became tilted heavily toward the run. Even though ev eryone in the stadium kne w UK had become a r un-first offense, Phillips managed to keep the opponent off-balance and scor e sufficient points to win fiv e of the last eight games, including gr ound-breaking victories on the r oad at A uburn and G eorgia. F or the season, K entucky rushed for 191.2 yar ds per game and a 4.5 av erage per carry, the team’s best marks in 14 years.
ONE OF THE NATION’S TOP RECRUITERS > In addition to his coaching, P hillips also is a highly effectiv e recruiter, as his straightforward, likeable personality earns the tr ust of young players and their families. H e served as UK’s recruiting coordinator in 2003-04, giving up that post because of his additional offensiv e responsibilities, but continued to be deeply involved in recruiting. Phillips’ abilities in that ar ea hav e become kno wn acr oss the countr y, as he has been identified as one of the nation ’s top r ecruiters b y SportsIllustrated.com and Rivals.com. Phillips has gained additional coaching experience b y working postseason all-star games. He was the winning head coach in the 2005 M agnolia Classic. Following the 2006 season, he was an assistant on the winning squad in the I ntaJuice North-South All-Star Game.
A LONGTIME KENTUCKIAN AND WILDCAT > Phillips is a familiar face around Kentucky football. He played at UK from 1981-84 and was on the football staff fr om 1988-96. As a play er, P hillips helped lead the Wildcats to appearances in the Hall of Fame Bowl in his junior and senior seasons. H e finished his playing days tied for fifth on the UK career receiving list with 75 catches for 935 yar ds and nine touchdowns. He went on to play a total of thr ee pr ofessional seasons with the Washington Redskins of the N ational Football League (1985, ’87) and Toronto in the Canadian Football League (1986). Phillips began his coaching career at his alma mater as a graduate assistant in 1988-89. In 1990, he served as an assistant recruiting coordinator. He was a fulltime assistant coach, in charge of the wide r eceivers, from 1991-96. I n 1991, under Phillips’ guidance, wide receiver Neal Clark broke the single-season record for pass receptions with 47 catches. Craig Yeast, who became the SEC’s all-time leading receiver, played his first two seasons under P hillips in 1995-96.
HEAD COACH
JOKER PHILLIPS Kentucky, 1986
NAME
Joe “Joker” Phillips Jr. — He was nicknamed “Joker” as a baby by his grandfather in order to distinguish Joker from his father, Joe Phillips Sr.
EDUCATION
Franklin-Simpson High School, Franklin, Ky., 1981 University of Kentucky, bachelor’s degree in advertising, 1986
ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE
> Participated in football, basketball and track at F ranklin-Simpson HS; all-state in football, playing quarterback and cornerback; all-region in basketball > Wide receiver at UK, finishing fifth on the school car eer receiving list with 75 catches for 935 yards and nine touchdowns > Wide receiver with Washington (NFL) in 1985 and 1987; Toronto (CFL) 1986
COACHING EXPERIENCE 1988-89 1990 1991-96 1997 1998 1999-2000 2001 2002 2003-04 2005-08 2009 2010-present
Kentucky Graduate Assistant Kentucky Assistant Recruiting Coord. Kentucky Assistant Coach (Receivers) Cincinnati Assistant Coach (Receivers) Cincinnati Assistant Coach (Defensive Backs) Minnesota Assistant Coach (Receivers) Notre Dame Assistant Coach (Receivers) South Carolina Assistant Coach (Receivers) Kentucky Assistant Coach (Recruiting Coord., Receivers) Kentucky Assistant Coach (Offensive Coord., Receivers) Kentucky Assistant Coach (Head Coach of the Offense, Receivers) Kentucky Head Coach
Phillips returned to UK from South Carolina, where he coached the wide receivers under head coach Lou H oltz in 2002. G amecock newcomer Troy Williamson earned SEC All-F reshman honors that y ear and w ent on to become the No. 7 overall pick in the 2005 NFL D raft. Phillips also has coached at Cincinnati (1997-98), M innesota (19992000) and N otre Dame (2001). A t Minnesota, he guided All-B ig Ten wide receiver Ron Johnson, who went on to play for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. In his y ear at N otre Dame, Phillips placed two wideouts in the NFL, J avin Hunter and David Givens. As a coach, nine of his teams hav e gone to bo wl games, including UK to the 1993 Peach Bowl, 2006, ’07 and ’09 Music City Bowls, the Liberty Bowl following the 2008 season and the BB VA Compass Bowl after the 2010 season; Cincinnati to the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl; and Minnesota to the 1999 Sun Bowl and 2000 Micronpc.com Bowl. Phillips is a native of Franklin, Ky., and was a three-sport standout — football, basketball and track — at F ranklin-Simpson High School. H e is married to Dr. Leslie Phillips, a professor at Georgetown College.
89