‘This is everything’: Former Lions defensive back Phillips cherishes wall of fame nod

Phillips knows the emotions could bubble up again on Saturday when he and former Lions quarterback Travis Lulay have their names added to the wall. His mom and sons — 20-year-old Ryan and 13-year-old Braylen — will be on hand for the ceremony, taking place during B.C.’s game against the league-leading Montreal Alouettes.

Being a Lions lifer is not a position Phillips expected to find himself in 21 years ago when he attended his first free agent workout with the team. B.C. was coming off its 2004 Grey Cup win and the Eastern Washington alum knew he wasn’t a lock for the squad.

“When I see these guys, I’m like, ‘Man, these guys can run and these guys can do things at a very high level,'” he said. “But then, when you see yourself starting to make a few plays, you’re like, ‘OK, I can actually compete and I can actually play.’”

A quarterback named Buck Pierce was at that workout, too, and took notice of Phillips. Both made the team and spent the next several months learning the CFL.

“That year, getting to know Ryan, you could tell right away there was something different about him,” said Pierce, now the Lions’ head coach. “I think just how he progressed every day and obviously his athletic ability … He came in, worked extremely hard, got to know the system, fit in well with the team dynamics.”

Over the next 12 years, Phillips played 212 games for B.C., winning Grey Cups in 2006 and 2011. He was named a CFL all-star four times, and is still the club’s leader in interception return yards (817) and sits fifth in defensive tackles (490).

The Seattle, Wash., product had always been a high-energy, adaptable athlete, Pierce said.

“He was able to really just come into a situation where his athletic ability could be used, his versatility could be used,” he said. “I mean, he was smart enough to understand how small professional rosters are, and that if he could play multiple spots, he’d be a guy that could help.”

Phillips credits his mom, Sheryl Cox, with showing him the importance of adjusting on the fly during her years as a teacher.

“I think, honestly, my mom kind of moulded me that way,” he said. “She’s been the best role model and the best person that I could ever have from that aspect, and she put me in a position where I’ve been able to grow as a man. And I think that’s been tremendous for me and my growth as a coach, as a player, as a dad.”

Being open to change helped Phillips not only as a player, but when he finally hung up his pads after playing two games for Montreal in 2017.

He returned to B.C. and worked in football operations, then spent 2018 on the Calgary Stampeders’ staff.

The pull to the West Coast was strong, though, and he soon returned to the Lions. Now in his 19th season with the team, Phillips spent three years as defensive coordinator before transitioning to secondary coach in 2025.

“I think you’ve always got to be able to adapt in every environment, right? You’ve got to be kind of versatile in that sense, especially when you’re doing this profession,” he said.

“Things could change at any moment. You could be on top of the world and the next minute now you could lose three games in a row and everybody hates you. And then after that, now you’re the best thing in the world because you won four games again, right?”

B.C. (6-6) heads into Saturday’s matchup looking for redemption after falling 37-30 to the Alouettes (10-2) in Montreal last week.

The result snapped a five-game win streak for the Lions, who are eager to gain ground in a congested West Division where all five teams still have realistic playoff aspirations.

Phillips will be on the sidelines, talking tactics with his players — including defensive back T.J. Lee, his former Lions teammate.

Transitioning from being on the field to being a coach is difficult, Lee said, but Phillips has grown a lot since his playing days.

“He’s been a great mentor for me. He’s been around as long as I’ve been playing in the CFL,” Lee said. “And he went to Eastern Washington like 10 years before me. He grew up in Seattle, I grew up in Seattle. A lot of people say we look alike. I remember when I was younger, I used to say ‘I’m R.P.’ to get in the clubs and stuff.”

A lot has changed since Phillips first came into the CFL.

Many rookies today come in from American colleges where they can earn money off their name and image, he notes, a stark departure from two decades ago.

Back then, players came in with “an added sense of urgency” to make the team, Phillips said.

“That dynamic has changed a little bit,” said the coach. “(Now) you try to find the guys that are passionate about the game. You try to find guys that are passionate about being on the team, passionate about their growth and what they want to get out of their career. Those guys last the longest.”

Those guys can be difficult to find, he said, but they’re “the ones you want to build a team with.”

After nearly two decades with the Lions, Phillips would know.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

‘This is everything’: Former Lions defensive back Phillips cherishes wall of fame nod

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