[1] During his playing career for the Kentucky Wildcats, Phillips caught 75 passes for 935 yards and nine touchdowns at the wide receiver position.

[2] Phillips played on the 1984 Kentucky Wildcats football team that went 9–3, finished #19 in the AP Poll, and won the 1984 Hall of Fame Classic Bowl.

Following two seasons in Cincinnati, Phillips made coaching stops at Minnesota, Notre Dame, and South Carolina.

In his first full season as offensive coordinator, Kentucky finished with an 8–5 record and defeated Clemson in the 2006 Music City Bowl.

In 2011, he led the Wildcats' to a season-ending 10–7 victory over Tennessee, their first over the Volunteers since 1984, ended the longest current losing streak against an annual opponent in FBS at 26.

[8] Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart announced on November 4, 2012, that Phillips would not return as coach in 2013 after a 1–9 start to the season.

[12] In February 2015, the NCAA ruled that Phillips committed a Level II violation that "was not inadvertent and provided more than a minimal recruiting advantage.

On June 29, 2016, Ohio State hired Phillips as a Quality Control Assistant under head coach Urban Meyer.