ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- He has not been on the Denver Broncos' sidelines since 2016, his trademark breakdown of the best players from Texas on the next opponent’s roster have been missing from Thursday afternoons, and his social media missives originate from somewhere else these days.

But Wade Phillips still has plenty of popularity in Denver.

“I’d say every day, almost, we hear Wade’s name from a caller or see it on the text line," said former Broncos guard Mark Schlereth, a Fox Sports NFL analyst who co-hosts a morning radio show in Denver. “Whenever we bring up anything about the defense, somebody will say, ‘We should have never let Wade go’ or, ‘They should have just paid him whatever he wanted.’ People still talk about him."

Wade Phillips ran Denver's defense during the run to Super Bowl 50. Eric Bakke/AP Photo

Many don't remember Phillips as a former Broncos assistant or from a stint as the team’s head coach, from which he was fired just before Pat Bowlen hired Mike Shanahan in 1995, but his second stint in Denver made Phillips local royalty.

Phillips was Gary Kubiak’s defensive coordinator when the Broncos smashed their way to victory in Super Bowl 50 with a defense that finished at the top, or near the top, of every major category in the league's rankings and linebacker Von Miller was the Super Bowl MVP. Whether it was a weekly pun or two on Twitter or a video with former cornerback Aqib Talib in which Phillips, draped in Talib’s jewelry, sings, “we be dripping," or making the calls on defense that season that always seemed to work, Phillips was just somebody the team’s faithful was drawn to.

“I say it’s because he kind of bought into the millennials, he embraces them," Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said. “I think some coaches give off that vibe that they can’t stand them, don’t want to around them. But Wade, he kind of bought into them, like a little kid."

Phillips will be back on the sideline Sunday in Denver as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, a 5-0 team currently enjoying the football gospel from Wade. Phillips was hired by Rams coach Sean McVay after the 2016 season, when Kubiak stepped down as the Broncos' head coach over health considerations and Vance Joseph was hired.

There are many sides to the story, with most versions including how much money Phillips wanted in a new deal with the Broncos at the time. But the two sides didn’t come to an agreement, and Joseph promoted Joe Woods to defensive coordinator. Woods had been the Broncos’ defensive backs coach for both seasons Phillips was Kubiak’s defensive coordinator.

Both Joseph and Woods have worked for Phillips -- Joseph did so on Kubiak's Houston Texans staff -- and both use plenty of what was in Phillips’ defensive playbook, but both find themselves often being measured against Phillips’ results in the public domain these days.

“People ask all the time about a difference Wade would make," said Ryan Harris, a former Broncos tackle who started Super Bowl 50 and currently co-hosts an afternoon radio show in Denver. "He is still a prominent figure to people, not only for his personality, but people saw what that defense did, how hard guys played and how Wade always seemed to [be] listening to guys and guiding them at the same time."

Last Sunday, the Broncos surrendered 323 yards rushing in a 34-16 loss to the New York Jets -- the fifth-highest single-game rushing total by an opponent in franchise history. This year, the Broncos (2-3) are sitting far below their own preseason expectations, at 26th in the league in total defense, 23rd in scoring defense, 30th in run defense and tied for 19th in sacks.

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Broncos players routinely support Woods and point to the need for the team's marquee players to have more impact on games. They also point to the departures, either in free agency, by release or by trade, of players like Malik Jackson, Talib, T.J. Ward and Danny Trevathan, as well as the departure of Phillips himself, to show that times always change even for a Super Bowl winner.

But Phillips and his @sonofbum Twitter handle still remain on the front burner for many.

“Man, Wade's been around since dinosaurs have been here," Broncos linebacker Shane Ray said. “So, I think he's just got that feel. His dad was a coach. He's been a coach for all this time. So, those old guys, man, they got some type of wisdom. Wade's got that knowledge up there, so obviously he knows what to do, when to do it and how to do it in every situation. That's why he's Wade Phillips.

“Wade, he just gave you so much confidence in yourself. I’ll never forget, I had one bad game, and he’s just, ‘You’re the best. You’re going to get it next week. I’m ready for you next week. I’ve got a big game plan for you to make plays next week,'" Harris said. “He’s a people person. He’s an old guy, but he acts young. He tries to be hip with everything and he just loves the game. I think people see that and that’s what they kind of react to."