8:30pm: It’s a two-year deal, according to Mike Klis of The Denver Post.
7:23pm: Wade Phillips is back in football. The Broncos have hired Phillips to be Gary Kubiak‘s defensive coordinator, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Phillips held the same job on Kubiak’s staff when the two were with the Texans a few years ago. Phillips ultimately wound up with two stints as interim head coach in his final year in 2013. The first came when Kubiak collapsed in the middle of a November game. The next stint came one month later when Houston relieved Kubiak of his duties and handed the reins to Phillips.
The 67-year-old also has a history with the Broncos as he coached the team way back when John Elway and Gary Kubiak were players. Phillips served as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator from 1989 through 1992 and as the head coach in 1993 and 1994, before being let go. Phillips had an even .500 record (16-16) during his time at the helm in Denver.
Phillips joins a team with five Pro Bowlers from this past season. As we learned earlier today, the Broncos seem likely to transition from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4. Fortunately, Denver already has a pair of very good edge rushers in Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware to help ease the transition.
It would appear that Phillips was not the first choice in Denver. The Broncos hired the coaching veteran after they were unable to land Bengals assistant Vance Joseph, according to Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com (on Twitter).