Phillips Wants Chargers to Trade Him Elsewhere
Stop if you’ve heard this one before: Unhappy key performer demands trade; Chargers oblige.
Jim Lachey. Chip Banks. Gary Anderson. Lee Williams. Joe Phillips?
Phillips’ agent, John Adler, said Thursday that his client wants to finish his playing days in another city. He said the Chargers’ immediate rejection of Phillips’ one-year demand for $1.12 million triggered Phillips’ request for a trade, but it is not the sole reason for his unhappiness.
Adler said money would not persuade the defensive lineman to remain. Adler added that at the very least, Phillips will not join the team before there is a resolution to the Freeman McNeil lawsuit against the NFL.
“This isn’t a negotiating ploy,” Adler said. “This is a man who would like to play for a different organization. At this point I don’t think there is anything that will change his mind.”
General Manager Bobby Beathard isn’t so sure about that, and he said Phillips has agreed to a one-on-one meeting to discuss the situation. In the meantime, however, the Chargers have made Phillips available, and to date three teams have expressed an interest. The Miami Dolphins already have approached Adler to inquire what it will take to sign Phillips.
“Trades are difficult and we’re going to make it tough,” Beathard said. “That’s not our first option; if we had our choice we’d rather sign Joe.”
The Chargers are switching to a 4-3 defensive alignment this season and desperately require Phillips’ services. Phillips has been the team’s starting nose tackle since 1987 and is considered the Chargers’ strongest, if not toughest player. Without Phillips, the Chargers are left to start George Thornton and rookie Arthur Paul.
While Phillips’ agent is pressing hard for a trade, the Chargers want to know what has prompted this overwhelming desire to leave. Coach Bobby Ross met privately with Phillips in the past few days, and now Beathard will sit down with Phillips.
“First of all, John Adler is not going to dictate what happens with Joe Phillips,” Beathard said. “We’ll run our organization the way we think is best for the Chargers. He’s evidently new in this football agent business, and I’m still not sure what he’s doing.
“I’m only going to believe what Joe tells me; I’m not interested in talking to Adler. I know the people here want Joe, but we’ll talk and see.”
Adler, meanwhile, has advised Phillips not to discuss his situation with the media. He said Phillips’ decision to leave San Diego has nothing to do with the fans or the community.
“I think Joe needs a change of scenery,” Adler said. “He’s been in the league six years and is living on borrowed time and really needs to go somewhere else. If we were to list our choices, (staying here) would not be one of the acceptable ones.”
Adler said there are a variety of reasons for Phillips’ disenchantment. “It’s not anything specific,” he said. “It’s the entire relationship with the Chargers.”
Adler said Phillips’ problems began the day he arrived as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL strike. He said Steve Ortmayer, the team’s former director of football operations, promised but failed to make Phillips a free agent after that season.
Ortmayer and Phillips also were involved in a bitter contract dispute in 1989. Ortmayer removed $7,500 a day from the team’s offer for each day that Phillips remained away from training camp. After 14 days and a loss of almost one-third of his anticipated income in 1989, an angry Phillips reported for duty.
Phillips played brilliantly in the first three games in 1990, but three men savagely beat him outside a local San Diego restaurant and the incident ended his season. While recovering from a broken eye socket, Phillips announced that he had checked into the Betty Ford Center because of problem with alcohol.
At the same time, he became embroiled in another money dispute with the Chargers. He said Beathard assured him that he would be paid for the 1990 season, but he was later informed that he would not be paid his full salary. The two parties reached a settlement, but in his initial contract demand for this season, he asked for $75,000 that he contended he was still owed from 1990.
“It’s been an accumulation of events,” Adler said. “His desire for a change of scenery is due in part to that (beating) incident. Those feelings have never totally been put behind him. It’s the way (the team) handled it and his own reactions.
“It was a very traumatic event for him and his family. His life passed before his eyes. Nobody comes out the same person after something like that.”
Adler said that he is confident the Chargers are acting in good faith when they say they are trying to trade Phillips.
“I think it’s good Bobby and Joe are going to meet,” Adler said. “They will either get a clear understanding that Joe does not want to play here or Bobby will come up with something--that I don’t think exists--to change his mind.”
Irreconcilable Differences Year: Charger Player and How He Departed 1988: Tackle Jim Lachey’s training camp holdout forces trade to Raiders 1989: Linebacker Chip Banks is a no-show at camp and is dealt to Indianapolis 1990: Running back Gary Anderson sits out the 1989 season and is sent to Tampa Bay 1991: Defensive end Lee Williams walks out of camp, which prompts deal with Houston 1992: Nose tackle Joe Phillips says he wants to play elsewhere