Catching Up with Phillip Daniels…
A versatile 6-foot-6, 215-pound prospect out of Seminole County in Donalsonville, Georgia, Phillip Daniels never played the same position two years in a row in his four seasons with the Bulldogs. Beginning in 1992, whereby he was one of only three freshman signees to letter (along with Randall Godfrey and Brice Hunter), through 1995, Daniels totaled 242 tackles, 13 sacks, 18 other tackles for loss, nine pass breakups, and five forced fumbles. As a senior, he was named defensive team captain and was one of just three Georgia defenders to earn All-SEC recognition.
A fourth-round pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, Daniels played 15 years with the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, and Washington Redskins. His 201 career pro games remain the second-most amongst defenders (behind Champ Bailey’s 215) who had played at Georgia. Following his pro playing days, Daniels was an administrator and coach in the NFL with Washington, Kansas City, and Philadelphia, including as the defensive line coach of the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl-winning team.
Besides continuing his career as a champion powerlifter, Daniels recently wrapped up his first season as the defensive line coach at Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. There, he coached his son, defensive end Dakendrick Daniels, as the Eagles won 11 games this past season.
UGASports caught up with Daniels from his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
UGASports: Phillip, you were a rather versatile football player in high school, including even placekicking and playing quarterback at Seminole County. Describe your versatility when you played for the Indians.
Daniels: “I started off primarily playing tight end in high school. But we were losing so bad [36-0] to Mitchell-Baker when I was a junior (third game of the 1990 season). Out of nowhere, my head coach, Coach [Walter] Landing, told me to go in at quarterback. I had taken some snaps at quarterback in practice, and I knew the calls, but I really didn’t know what I was halfway doing. I played for two series towards the end of the game and threw two touchdowns [in a 36-14 loss]. The former quarterback went to Coach Landing and asked to be moved to running back, I stayed at quarterback, and we made it work. On defense, I played middle linebacker. But, when I started to be recruited, it was primarily as a tight end.”
UGASports: Although you were recruited primarily to play tight end, how did you know you were on the radar, so to speak, to play on defense at the collegiate level?
Daniels: “When Coach [Ray] Goff (Georgia’s head coach at the time) visited my high school, he couldn’t talk directly to me, just to my head coach. So, it’s kind of funny, one day at school, Coach Goff showed up and started to talk to Coach Landing. He wasn’t talking directly to me, but Coach Goff made himself loud enough so I could hear him. Loudly, he said something like, ‘Coach Landing, I cannot talk with Phillip because it’s against the rules! But we want him to play defense for us!’ Apparently, he had seen some of my film, when I knocked a kid out playing on defense against Dale County. Also playing defense, I broke a kid’s collarbone against Miller County. Coach Goff saw me hitting folks and thought I’d be good on defense. To be honest, Coach Goff indicating I’d play on defense was one of the deciding factors as to why I decided to come to Georgia.”
UGASports: Talk a little about your recruiting experience. And what were other deciding factors which led to you signing with Georgia?
Daniels: “Well, I was a basketball guy too, so I had quite a few offers (Daniels earned Class AA honorable mention All-State basketball honors as a junior and first-team All-State recognition as a senior). I went on a basketball visit to the College of Charleston. Football visits with an opportunity to play basketball included to NC State, Florida… Actually, I visited and originally verbally committed to Florida. I then visited Georgia, where I had a super, great time. But, my mom, whose name is ‘Georgia,’ also had a great time in Athens. When I was on my visit, she was taken to the movies, out to eat. But, when I had visited Florida, all my mom did was stay in the [hotel] room. The fact that Georgia showed my mom a good time too, that was another deciding factor. And the fact my mom’s name is ‘Georgia.’”
UGASports: Although Coach Goff might have been thinking of you as a defensive player, you were still recruited as a tight end. When was it determined you would better serve on the defensive side of the ball?
Daniels: “At the time at Georgia, some signees were positioned on both offense and defense when they came in. I was put at tight end and outside linebacker. On our first day of pads, I was on defense, and there was a handoff to a fullback in the B Gap. I came up and absolutely laid him out! I hit the fullback so hard. Right after the play, Coach Goff ran up and picked me off the ground, saying, ‘That’s what I’m talking about! You’re going to be able to help us this year!’ That’s when I realized I was going to be a defensive player at Georgia.”
UGASports: In your four years as a Bulldog, you never played the same position two seasons in a row. What positions did you play at Georgia—and when? And was it difficult for you to keep moving around from position to position?
Daniels: “I went from playing outside linebacker my freshman year to pretty much a five-technique defensive tackle as a sophomore. When Marion Campbell came in as the defensive coordinator in 1994, I was moved back to outside linebacker. As a senior with Joe Kines as the defensive coordinator, I was placed at defensive end. You know, moving positions each year wasn’t tough. I was a good student of the game, able to learn from my coaches and the guys who played in front of me. No matter where I was placed, I was going to be able to play football.”
UGASports: What were your thoughts at the time on being voted defensive team captain for your senior year in 1995?
Daniels: “Honestly, it wasn’t expected. I was just a hard-working guy, who knew I was a team leader. But to be voted captain was a bonus for me. When I arrived at UGA, I wasn’t the strongest kid. So, I started to work out extra hard, often six days a week and sometimes on Saturdays at the [Georgia] Coliseum. I think my teammates realized the hard work I had put in the weight room and on the practice field. My teammates supported me and saw me working. It was awesome for them to vote me defensive captain.”
UGASports: Your final season at Georgia, 1995, was also Ray Goff’s final year as the head coach of the Bulldogs after the team went 6-6. What’s your feedback regarding Coach Goff?
Daniels: “Coach Goff getting fired just before the ’95 season ended was really tough. We had several close losses that year, and a bunch of injuries, so I really hated it for him. After we lost the Peach Bowl to Virginia, Coach Goff pulled me aside at the team hotel and gave me advice on finding an agent. He even said I could use his agent until I could find my own. About three or four years ago, I was asked to speak at a Boys & Girls Club in Albany, Georgia. I didn’t know Coach Goff was going to be there to introduce me. To this day, former players still reach out to Coach Goff—and he helps them out anyway he can. You know, I lost my mom to COVID complications not that long ago. I got a phone call that my mom had passed away while I sat in my truck in the parking lot of a Dick’s Sporting Goods. I instantly called my wife, my brothers and sisters. And, suddenly, one of the first calls I received with condolences was from Ray Goff. I have no idea how he knew my mom had passed. I hadn’t posted anything on social media. But, somehow, Coach Goff knew—and he called me. That meant a lot. He’s a very special person.”
UGASports: Do you think the fact you often moved positions playing football hindered you in anyway?
Daniels: “Probably the only way moving positions hurt me was when it came time for me to get drafted. No one knew what I was. Leaving Georgia weighing around 260-265, I was a tweener. I worked out at both defensive end and outside linebacker. Still, I had a good [NFL] Combine and pro day—and I got noticed. Tommy Brasher is a long-time high school, college, and NFL coach. At the time, he was the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive line coach. He told me he thought I’d go in the second round of the [1996] draft. But he said if I was still around in the fourth round, he’d ‘stand on a table’ for me and get me to Seattle. Well, after not getting drafted the first night, out of nowhere, the Seahawks moved up around 11 spots to draft me early in the fourth round. Coach Brasher didn’t lie to me. He believed in me.”
UGASports: Fifteen years, and 201 games later, you had quite the NFL career. Simply, what do you take away from your lengthy professional football career?
Daniels: “Every day I was in the NFL, I learned something new. And, what I say, once you stop learning or willing to learn, you’re done. You might as well retire from the NFL. I retired [following the 2010 season with the Washington Redskins] not because I had stopped learning, but we had a new coach come in who wanted to go young. I was 38 years old at the time, so that was pretty much it for me. Looking back, I had a great, fulfilling pro career. It was 15 years of a lot of training camps, a lot of blood spilt, and a lot of injuries I played through. I’d like to think I was tough; I was resilient. And I really appreciate the opportunities I got along the way and all the people who helped me get there.”
UGASports: Tell us how you got into coaching.
Daniels: “I always wanted to be a coach ever since my high school days. Along the way, there were several people who said that by the way I played and practiced, I would make a good coach one day. After my final season playing in the NFL, I was out of football for one year. The next year, 2012, I was the Director of Player Development for Washington. But that really wasn’t for me. It was more of an administrator position, and I was more of a coach, a teacher. Coach Brasher helped me get an internship with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014. And he helped me get on in Philadelphia, where I was a coach for the Eagles from 2016 through 2019.”
UGASports: Also, we don’t think many people are aware that you are a powerlifter—and have been for some time. Tell us about that.
Daniels: “So, right before I came to UGA, I started working out at this gym in my hometown, Muscles Elite. The owner there eventually put me in touch with a guy in Seattle, Gus, who could help advance my powerlifting career. I started competing, lifting around 600-pound squats and 600-pound deadlifts. I soon placed first in a powerlifting competition in Washington State. From there, I met a guy who taught me technique and I got super strong. My last season in Seattle (1999), I had a career-high nine sacks—and I think a lot of it had to do with powerlifting. When I was with the Bears, I became co-owner of Monster Garage Gym in Illinois. I think being a powerlifter helped prolong my NFL career. It helped me to where it was difficult for anyone to knock me off the ball and made me feel that I was more physical and stronger than any player I opposed. To this day, I still power lift.”
UGASports: Phillip, if you don’t mind us asking, how in the world were you let go by Philadelphia after the Eagles (in 2019) were No. 11 in the entire league in sacks and No. 3 against the run?
Daniels: “And we had to play two guys who had just come off of surgery. But it’s the NFL, where it’s a business. And, sometimes, you can do a job the right way, and evaluate players the right way—but in that business, you could still be out of a job. However, in a way, I think me getting let go by the Eagles was God being in control. It’s like God ordered my steps so I could eventually work with my son. This past season, I was the defensive line coach at Bishop Shanahan High School, where I got to coach my son, Dakendrick. I love the coaching staff at Bishop Shanahan. I installed the team’s defensive front, and we did a great job of attacking and beating up on people on our way to winning the district championship and making it to the semifinals of the state playoffs.”
UGASports: Besides Dakendrick, tell us about the rest of your family.
Daniels: “My oldest son, DaVaris, was a receiver at Notre Dame and has played in the Canadian [Football] League for several years. He currently plays with the Toronto Argonauts. I have two daughters: Damara, my oldest, and DaKiya. I met my wife, Leslie, in high school. She’s the reason I’m so grounded.”
UGASports: Finally, we have to get your thoughts on Georgia’s national championship season, particularly from a defensive standpoint.
Daniels: “I’ll admit, I critique a lot when it comes to defensive-line play. And, before this season, I thought Georgia’s defensive line could sometimes be the team’s Achilles heel. But that was definitely fixed this past season. Whereas before, the line seemed more of a back-on-their-heels, run-stopping defense. In 2021, they were more of an attack defense, butts in the air and attacking up front. This year’s team handled its business. I played with both Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp. They are both great coaches. Kirby says something like, ‘If you’re going to be elite as a team, you have to be elite all the time, not some of the time.’ And this past season’s team was definitely elite all the time.”