Russ Phillips enters into his sixth year at Hendrix and fifth as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Warriors. He also serves as the program's strength and conditioning coordinator.
He joined the coaching staff in July 2018 and worked as the offensive line coach and strength & conditioning coordinator in his first year.
Phillips would coach another quarterback to All-SAA honors in 2022, this time in the form of Jacob Wood. Wood was named SAA Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 15 after a four-touchdown performance versus Sewanee.
In a COVID-shortened 2021 season, Hendrix won the SAA West division to clinch a spot in the SAA Championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark. Six Warriors were named to the All-SAA team on offense, including Thompson, who earned All-SAA honors for the third time to cap off a stellar career.
In 2019, in his first year as offensive coordinator, Phillips helped the Warriors to a 7-3 record in a season that saw quarterback Miles Thompson earn All-SAA honors.
Coach Phillips played for the Southern Arkansas University (SAU) Muleriders from 1991-1995 where he also met his wife, Heidi. Following his college playing days, the two moved to Texas. Coach Phillips started out at Lewisville High School and spent 13 years there; serving as the offensive coordinator for the last four seasons there.
Following his days at Lewisville High School, Coach Phillips received a head coaching opportunity at Ponder, Texas, a small 2-A school. He coached there three years before obtaining a coaching position at Denton Guyer High School in Denton, Texas. In just his first season at Denton Guyer, Coach Phillips helped lead the Wildcats to its second-straight 4A Division I Texas State Championship after a 31-14 victory over Brennan High School in the title game. In his three seasons at Denton Guyer, Coach Phillips served as the wide receivers coach, head boys track coach, and was the assistant strength and conditioning coordinator.
Following his days at Denton Guyer, Coach Phillips ended up at Southlake Carroll High School for the past two seasons. Coach Phillips' duties included coaching the running backs and serving as the head strength and conditioning director. He also worked with sprinters and relays in track & field at Southlake Carroll.
In addition to his stellar playing career at SAU, Coach Phillips also received his B.S. in Kinesiology.
Phillips resides in Conway with his wife, Heidi, who serves as the head cheer coach for the Warriors, his son, Colton, a four-year player for the Warriors, and his daugther, Carsyn.
