When I asked Wade Phillips about Tony Romo receiving an inordinate amount of criticism as the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, Phillips abruptly cut me off.

“I think the coach probably got more criticism than the quarterback,” the Texans defensive coordinator said with a half-smile. Maybe it was more of a quarter-smile.

For a straightforward man who pulls no punches, that bit of a smile wasn’t the most genuine facial expression. A brief smile couldn’t hide his focus on the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round Sunday.

Phillips is quite the humorist — not as funny as his dad, Bum, who is in Will Rogers territory when it comes to down-home humor — and he tends to be jolly, but no doubt his response to the line of questioning was from the heart. He knew the line would generate laughter, but he wasn’t necessarily trying to be funny.

Wade Phillips has been fired from three head coaching jobs — in the East (Buffalo), the West (Denver) and the South (Dallas) — but you can’t tell him that he isn’t a good head coach. Yet so many believe that is the case.

They are wrong.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers asked the Texans for permission to speak with Phillips about their head coaching position a couple of weeks ago. After agreeing to meet with the Bucs brass in Houston on Friday, Phillips had a change of heart and said Thursday evening he had decided not to pursue the job.

Did the Buccaneers already eliminate Phillips from consideration or did Phillips decide he was no longer interested?

Did Phillips figure a month after surgery on his gallbladder and kidney he wouldn’t make a good impression?

The latter is more likely the case.

Phillips hasn’t been cleared to be at his preferred position on the sideline during games. At Thursday’s news conference, he appeared to be weak and under the weather.

For a man who would like to be a head coach again, that is unfortunate. For a man whose health concerns could be serious, being hired for a head coaching job might be a long shot.

No fading star

Phillips, 64, who is responsible for the transformation of the Texans’ defense from one of the league’s worst to one of its best, has a reputation for being a heck of an assistant coach but a horrible head coach.

That is laughable.

Phillips isn’t fading. He is among the best in the business.

And note, I didn’t qualify that best-in-the-business tag as a “defensive coordinator.” I am talking about him as an NFL coach.

Don’t follow the silly crowd.

Phillips has been a successful NFL head coach who has a good coaching record.

So he hasn’t led a team to a Super Bowl victory. Well, neither have most of the 32 head coaches in the league this season.

He is laid-back, calm and noncombative. That old-school style doesn’t mean he can’t get the job done.

“He relates to us and we relate to him,” Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans said. “You see how hard we play for him?”

Any thought Phillips might be approaching an over-the-hill status is off base.

Knows how to win

This isn’t a case where the middle-aged children are trying to take the keys from grandpa because he can no longer see at night, red lights look green and the sound his left-turn signal makes is inaudible to him.

Phillips might look weak, but his defense is as motivated as any.

One could say Phillips has rabbit ears and pays too much attention to critics (and the Dallas media often did), but who wants to be labeled a can’t-win guy? Who willingly accepts unfair tags of mediocrity? Who doesn’t want to be applauded for his hard work?

Phillips is 21 games above .500 as a head coach (82-61) in regular-season games. He knows how to win games, most players love him and the game hasn’t come close to passing him by.

“Football isn’t that complicated,” Phillips said earlier this season. “Run fast, hit hard and good things will happen.

“You can’t listen to what anybody says. All most of them want to do is criticize.”

jerome.solomon@chron.com

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