Dec. 21, 2005
Baylor football head coach Guy Morriss completed the reorganization of his coaching staff Wednesday with the selection of Wes Phillips as the Bears' new quarterback coach.
"I'm thrilled that Wes is joining our staff," Morriss said. "He's a young and enthusiastic coach who has a tremendous knowledge of the offensive system that we will be running. He'll be a great addition to our program."
A former quarterback at UTEP and a Houston native, Phillips has spent the past two seasons in a similar position under new Baylor offensive coordinator Lee Hays at West Texas A&M. The Buffaloes enjoyed their most successful season in some 55 years in 2005, going 10-2 to post their first winning season since 1998 and the program's first 10-win campaign since 1950. Along the way, WTAMU won the Lone Star Conference with an 8-1 record, its first league title since 1986, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the first time in school history.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to work for coach (Guy) Morriss and continue to work with coach (Lee) Hays," Phillips said. "I look forward to working with the talented quarterbacks that we currently have in the program. This is a great opportunity for me both professionally and personally."
West Texas A&M led the 2005 Division II ranks in passing offense, throwing for an average of 363.8 yards per contest, and Phillips' pupil Dalton Bell was a national finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy. Bell completed 68.5 percent of his passes for 3,799 yards and 30 touchdowns with just 13 interceptions in 454 attempts. He ranked No. 3 nationally in total offense yards (349.2 ypg) and 13th in pass efficiency with a 154.9 rating while establishing school and conference single-season records for both total offense (3,843) and passing (3,799) yards. Bell posted seven 300-yard passing games, including four of 400 or more yards.
Prior to joining the WTAMU staff, Phillips spent one season as a student assistant coach at his alma mater, UTEP, and played two years with the San Diego Riptide in the Arena Football League 2. A three-year letterman for the Miners (1999, 2000 and 2001), Phillips was a member of the 2000 UTEP team which shared the WAC title, posted the program's highest win total in more than a decade and played in the Humanitarian Bowl. He still ranks among the school's single-season leaders in both pass efficiency (No. 9 with a 120.03 rating in 2001) and completion percentage (No. 8 at 55.6 percent in 2001).
The son of former NFL head coach and current San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and the grandson of former Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints coaching legend Bum Phillips, Wes received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from UTEP in 2001. He replaces assistant head coach/running backs coach Gerald Carr on the Baylor staff. Carr recently resigned his position on the Baylor staff to pursue other coaching opportunities.
Morriss also announced two other position changes on Baylor's offensive staff. Chris Lancaster, who has coached the Bears' offensive line the past three seasons, will coach the running backs in 2006 and Morriss will take over as Baylor's offensive line coach on full-time basis. Morriss spent 18 seasons in the National Football League, including 15 years as an offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. An All-Pro selection, he was a starter on the Eagles' 1980 Super Bowl team and was a member of the Patriots' 1985 AFC championship squad which played in Super Bowl XX.
In addition to his playing experience, Morriss spent 11 of his 12 seasons as an assistant coach developing offensive lines in the NFL (three total seasons--two with New England and one with Arizona), CFL (one year at San Antonio) and the collegiate ranks (seven total seasons--four at Kentucky, one at Mississippi State and two at Valdosta State).
Lancaster was a standout fullback at Clemson as a player from 1985 through 1987 before suffering a career-ending injury as a senior. He has coached on the offensive side of the ball for all but one season of his coaching career.
"I believe Chris will do an excellent job with the running backs," Morriss said. "He was an outstanding fullback at Clemson and has spent nearly his entire career on the offensive side of the ball and I know he's excited about coaching the position he played.
"I'm looking forward to coaching a position again," he added. "As a head coach the last five years that was something I had missed. I believe that all of these moves will strengthen our program as we continue to move forward. I'm excited to get on the field this spring and install this offensive system."
Baylor finished the 2005 season 5-6 overall and 2-6 in Big 12 play, the Bears' most successful season since 1995. During the 2005 campaign, Baylor snapped a 24-game road losing streak, won its first Big 12 road game and posted multiple Big 12 wins in the same season for the first time ever.
