Vikings OC Wes Phillips on DWI arrest: ‘I’ll own it and move forward’

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips spoke Tuesday for the first time since his arrest for misdemeanor DWI last Friday before the team flew to Las Vegas.

Phillips, 44, was arrested on suspicion of DWI at about 11 p.m. Friday in the Twin Cities. He was released early Saturday morning after posting a $300 bond, and has a court date set for Sept. 21. Phillips immediately notified the team after the incident, and still flew with the Vikings and coached in the 3-0 win over the Raiders.

"Aside from the standards that I have for myself, I do understand that as a coach in this league, there are certain standards from the NFL and from the Minnesota Vikings. I didn’t live up to those standards. The last thing I would ever want to do is detract from the attention being on the great things that these guys do on the field," Phillips said from TCO Performance Center. "That was unfortunate from me, I do believe in being accountable and learning from your mistakes, accepting whatever discipline may come down the road, and growing from it and going forward with a positive attitude."

Phillips reportedly had a .10 blood alcohol content at the time of his traffic stop, above the .08 legal limit for driving in Minnesota.

"At this point it doesn’t really matter where I was at. The important thing is just to learn from the mistakes that were made and move forward," Phillips said.

Phillips is subject to discipline from either the Vikings or the NFL for the incident. It’s not yet clear what that might look like. Phillips is in his 17th season in the NFL, and in his second season with the Vikings under O’Connell. He spent 2020 and 2021 with O’Connell as part of the L.A. Rams staff.

"I’m just going to keep coaching until they tell me otherwise," Phillips said.

Asked if he would do anything differently, Phillips said, "Yeah, I wouldn’t put myself in that situation."