HOUSTON, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Former Houston Oilers Coach Bum Phillips says he'd be "tickled" if his son Wade joined the Houston Texans' coaching staff as an assistant.
Phillips responded to rumors that Wade -- fired earlier this year as the Dallas Cowboys' mentor -- could be tapped to assist embattled Texans head Coach Gary Kubiak, telling The Houston Chronicle, "It would tickle me to death. Wade's a Houston boy. He's got family here."
Kubiak's job security was at issue as the Texans prepared to end a disappointing season, taking a 5-10 record into Sunday's finale against Jacksonville.
Bum Phillips, who was the Oilers' (now Tennessee Titans) head coach from 1975-80, was at the Texans' practice Wednesday to support Kubiak, along with former Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini. Together the pair guided Houston to two AFC championship games in the late 1970s.
"If (the Texans) need a coach, I'm sure he'd be tickled to death, and I'm sure they would be, too," Bum said of Wade, who was dismissed as the Cowboys' head coach after a 1-7 start to the season.
