Jason Phillips Selected As Football Recruiting Coordinator
1/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 26, 2007
Jason Phillips, recently hired as an assistant football coach on Guy Morriss' Baylor staff, has taken on additional duties as the Bears' recruiting coordinator, Morriss announced today. Phillips, who coaches the Bears' inside receivers, joined the Baylor staff earlier this month from the University of Houston.
"Jason enjoys a tremendous reputation as a recruiter and will lead our staff in this critical area," said Morriss. "He is excited about expanding his role within our program and I believe he'll do a great job for us. I thought it was important to have someone with ties to the state of Texas head up our recruiting and Jason (Phillips) has spent nearly his entire life in the Lone Star state, so he's been able to build a foundation of recruiting connections which will serve Baylor well in the coming years.
"Our entire staff, however, will continue to be involved in every phase of the recruiting process just as it has been in the past," Morriss added.
Phillips joined the Baylor staff on Jan. 2, 2007, after spending five of the previous six seasons on staff at his alma mater, the University of Houston. He began his coaching career at Houston in 2001, then after working at Texas State in 2002 before returning to the Cougars' sideline in 2003. He helped Houston to three bowl games in the past four seasons, capped off by a 10-4 record, a Conference USA championship and a berth in the 2006 Liberty Bowl.
As an All-America athlete at UH, Phillips was on the receiving end of many "Run-n-Shoot" passes from Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware. Under the leadership of head coach Jack Pardee, Phillips led the nation in receiving in 1987 and 1988, becoming the first NCAA player in 23 years to accomplish such a feat in two consecutive seasons. Phillips garnered All-Southwest Conference honors, was the 1987 SWC Newcomer of the Year and received All-America recognition from United Press International (UPI) in his rookie season at UH. In addition to earning All-SWC First-Team honors and being named SWC Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Phillips was a consensus first-team, All-America in 1988. He was also selected to the SWC's All-Decade Team for the 1980s.
After a successful playing stint at Houston, Phillips was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1989 and played for two seasons there before playing four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He played in the Canadian Football League for two seasons, then began his coaching career with Spring Football League's Houston Marshals in 1999. He tutored wide receivers and served as an assistant offensive coordinator for two seasons, helping guide the Marshals to a league championship in 1999.
In 2001, Phillips returned to the NFL as an offensive intern coach for the Minnesota Vikings. Under the direction of head coach Dennis Green and offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis, Phillips worked closely with wide receivers Randy Moss, Chris Carter, Jake Reed and Chris Walsh. He earned another offensive intern coaching position with the Atlanta Falcons in 2002 under head coach Dan Reeves.
A Houston native and 2006 inductee into the University of Houston's Athletic Hall of Honor, Phillips was a football standout at Ross Sterling High School where he earned All-District and All-Greater Houston honors as a senior quarterback. He continued his football and academic career at Taft Junior College, playing both quarterback and wide receiver. Phillips was named team MVP as well as a first-team all-conference selection as a rookie quarterback and earned all-state honors as a wide receiver at Taft before transferring to UH.
