O.A. "Bum" Phillips is a former head coach in the National Football League (NFL).

He was born on September 29, 1923. Some sources claimed he was born in Nederland, Texas, others have said he was born in Orange, Texas.

He played football at Lamar Junior College (now Lamar University) in Beaumont, Texas, but enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into WWII.

After he returned from the war, Phillips enrolled at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, lettering in football in 1948 and 1949 and graduating with a degree in Education in 1949.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Phillips coached in high school football teams in various Texas cities, including Jacksonville, Amarillo, Port Neches, his hometown of Nederland, and also in college.

His college coaching stints included having served as an assistant coach at Texas A&M (under Paul "Bear" Bryant), the University of Houston (for Bill Yeoman), Southern Methodist University (for Hayden Fry), the University of Texas-El Paso, and Oklahoma State University.

In the early 1970s, Phillips joined the NFL when he was hired by Sid Gillman to serve as an defensive assistant coach for the San Diego Chargers. A few years later, Gillman became head coach of the Houston Oilers, and he brought Phillips with him as his defensive coordinator.

In 1975, Phillips was named head coach and general manager of the Houston Oilers, and served in that capacity through 1980. As coach of the Oilers, he became the winningest coach in franchise history.

From 1981 through 1985, he was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints.

Phillips has since retired to his horse ranch in Goliad, Texas.

His son, Wade Phillips later became an NFL coach.