Joshua Phillips joins the Raiders in 2024 as a defensive assistant, bringing with him 13 years of coaching experience at the college and high school levels.
Prior to joining the Silver and Black, Phillips was the head coach/offensive coordinator for Sarasota High School in 2023.
In 2022, he held several defensive positions with Manatee High School, serving as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, leading a defense that held opponents to less than 100 yards passing per game, and a less than 30.0% third down conversion rate per game. He also improved the team's record to 6-3 from 2-7 the previous year, earning the number three playoff seed.
Phillips also coached for Granada High School in the Bay Area for four years (2016-19), serving as the defensive coordinator (2019), pass game coordinator (2017-18), and coached defensive backs, linebackers, quarterbacks, wide receivers and special teams in 2016.
From 2010-12, Phillips held the Assistant Strength and Conditioning coach title at University of California, Berkely, where he worked with NFL Pro Bowl WR Keenan Allen, All-Pro and Pro Bowl DE Cameron Jordan, Super Bowl Champion and Pro Bowl RB CJ Anderson, Super Bowl Champion and Pro Bowl T Mitchell Schwartz, and Super Bowl Champion RB Shane Vereen.
Prior to arriving at Cal, Phillips spent one year at UC Santa Barbara where he was an assistant sports performance coach during the 2009-10 athletic year. He worked with all 20 varsity sports at UCSB, with a focus on baseball, softball, and track and field. His responsibilities included athlete instruction, training and program development. He also piloted speed development clinics and assisted with nutritional needs assessment and dietary program implementation.
He was the defensive coordinator at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Calif. in 2009, leading the two-year school to its first American Pacific Conference crown in 24 years. The Brahmas posted a 7-3 overall record and earned a No. 13 ranking among Southern California junior colleges. Phillips coached seven all-conference players, including former Cal wide receiver/returner Coleman Edmond, who was the 2009 APC Offensive Player of the Year and an all-state honoree.
Phillips spent the 2007 and 2008 campaigns as the secondary coach and co-special teams coordinator at Wagner College, leading the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) squad to the No. 6 national ranking in total defense in 2007 and a No. 3 ranking against the pass in 2008. Wagner was also the No. 1 team in total defense in the Northeast Conference both seasons. Among the players Phillips coached was All-American cornerback Al Phillips, who ranked fifth in the nation with seven interceptions in 2007 and signed an NFL free agent contract with the New York Jets in 2008. In addition, Phillips was the program's liaison to professional football and headed the Seahawks' leadership program, which included elements of community service and academic achievement.
Before beginning his career in coaching and sports performance, Phillips' played three seasons of professional football from 2002-04 with NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals (2002), the NFL's Houston Texans (2002) and the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League (2003-04).
PERSONAL: Phillips played his collegiate football at Yale from 1997-2001, where he was a two-way player as a tailback and cornerback while also a key member of the special teams unit…Helped lead his squad to an Ivy League title in 1999 and was a four-year starter, starting at cornerback as a freshman, junior and senior, and tailback as a sophomore when he was also the team's primary nickelback…Earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Yale in 1999 and also picked up a master's degree in business administration from Wagner in 2008 and a master's degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in biomechanics from Cal State Northridge in 2011.
