Career
He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia. He also played in the United Football League for the Omaha Nighthawks and Sacramento Mountain Lions.
Jermaine is currently the Defensive Coordinator at Roswell High School in Roswell, Georgia and helped coach the team to the GHSA 6A State Finals in 2015.
Phillips played high school football at Roswell High School in Roswell, Georgia. While there he played line backer, tight end and defensive back.
Phillips played college football at Georgia. From 1998–1999 he was one of Georgia"s back up wide receivers.
In 2000 he became a strong safety and was third on the team in total tackles with 85 and also had two interceptions.
In 2001, Phillips was All-Southeastern Conference first-team selection by the National Sports Bureau after leading his team with three interceptions, four forced fumbles, and second on the team with eighty tackles. He was invited to play in the 2002 Senior Bowl college all-star game. His major was health and physical education.
Phillips was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round (157 overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft.
He took over the starting role when long time Buccaneer player John Lynch (who signed with the Denver Broncos) was released because of salary cap issues before the start of the 2004 season. During the 2007 season he had a career high four interceptions.
An unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason, Phillips re-signed with the Buccaneers on March 5. Shortly after, it was reported the Buccaneers would experiment with moving Phillips from safety to weak-side linebacker.
Phillips played in the United Football League for the Omaha Nighthawks in 2010 and Sacramento Mountain Lions in 2011.
NFL stats
Key
General Practice: games played
COMB: combined tackles
TOTAL: total tackles
Air Service Training: assisted tackles
SACK: sacks
FF: forced fumbles
First Revision: fumble recoveries
INT: interceptions
International Rectifier YDS: interception return yards
AVG International Rectifier : average interception return
Liquefied Natural Gas: longest interception return
Territorial Decoration: interceptions returned for touchdown
Privatdozent : passes defensed.