Buffalo Bills

Former Bills head coach Wade Phillips kicked out officiating crew over Music City Miracle

Published Jun. 5, 2017 6:40 a.m. ET

Nunzio Ingrassia

The last time the Buffalo Bills reached the postseason, they were on the wrong end of one of the most unforgettable moments in playoff history, falling to the Tennessee Titans on the famed Music City Miracle play as time expired.

Then-Bills head coach Wade Phillips recounted a memorable incident that followed Buffalo’s heartbreaking 22-16 loss in his new book “Son of a Bum”. In the offseason following that playoff loss in 2000, an officiating crew met with the Bills coaching staff to review the rule changes for the upcoming season.

And one of the plays in the video presentation was the Titans’ unforgettable kickoff return that was controversial because of Frank Wycheck's pass, which the Bills argued was an illegal forward toss.

Phillips wasn’t about to relive it.

“All of a sudden, one of the first plays to appear on the screen was the Music City Mistake,” Phillips writes, via Pro Football Talk. “They didn’t just show the play, but they also said it was an example of ‘why we’ve got good officiating’ in the NFL. I couldn’t believe it. None of us could. . . .

“That really made me mad. Every coach in that room was fuming. As far as I was concerned, our meeting was over. ‘Turn it off!’ I said. ‘We don’t want to see that. First of all, it’s wrong. And for you to sit there and say it’s right is wrong. You need to get out of here right now.'”

The Bills have suffered through a 17-year playoff drought since that play, which some in Buffalo apparently haven’t forgotten.