He could have worded it more respectfully, but Phil actually has a point about the long coats.
There are certain things gedolim do, in particular in how they dress, that we specifically avoid emulating. The Rosh Yeshiva wearing a long coat doesn’t mean all the bocherim should, in fact it means the opposite. Obviously, it would be absurd to suggest that white shirts fall into this category. But, I’m assuming Phil’s point was “we don’t always strive to dress exactly like the gedolim; sometimes we even avoid it.” He’s right.