Fraley: Wes Phillips earns coaching promotion, shows he didn't ride Wade's coattails with Cowboys
GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING — Bum Phillips, whose football roots reach back to Bear Bryant, insists grandson Wes will be the best coach in the family.
Judging from head coach Jason Garrett’s first staff with the Cowboys, Bum Phillips was speaking out of more than family pride.
Wes Phillips will return for his fifth season with the Cowboys, in the role of assistant offensive line coach. The promotion shows Wes Phillips is a rising coaching talent carving out an identity rather than a fortunate son.
Remember that Garrett failed Phillips’ father, Wade, as offensive coordinator during last year’s 1-7 start and then replaced him as head coach at midseason. It would have been easy and understandable for Garrett to avoid potentially awkward situations by getting rid of the son.
Instead, Garrett separated the professional from the personal. That speaks to what Wes Phillips did in four years as the quality control-offensive assistant to Garrett, the offensive coordinator.
Garrett wants to surround himself with as many good coaches as possible. Phillips earned that respect from him.
Garrett was not available for comment. Offensive line coach Hudson Houck expressed the organizational view of Phillips.
“He’s a very, very intelligent guy and really understands what we’re trying to do,” Houck said. “This’ll help us take it to a higher level. I think we’ll be better coached overall with Wes.”
For Phillips, this dwarfs the career break he received upon coming to the Cowboys in 2007 after one season as quarterbacks coach with Baylor. That was a case of the father hiring the son. No one could say for certain if it was a case of rank nepotism, or the son really deserving the job.
Wade Phillips did do his son a favor by granting him no special favors. Wes Phillips got in on the ground floor.
“Quality control coach” is a euphemism for indentured servant. Wes Phillips worked long hours at tasks such as cutting up film to show the best pass-rush moves of each individual on an upcoming opponent.
In 2 1/2 years on that job, he earned internal respect and changed perceptions. The coach’s kid knew what he was doing.
“Even if you’re working for your dad, you’re still being evaluated by everyone you coach with as to what you do personally and why you were hired,” said Phillips, who turned 32 this month. “I knew I wouldn’t be working with my dad forever. I know I’ll miss my dad, but I’m excited to still be here and to be moving forward.”
Phillips did some of his new job last season. He handled film requests from Houck and attended every offensive line meeting.
Houck has the added designation of “running game coordinator,” which he said is just a title and does not represent a significant change from his previous duties. Having Phillips will allow Houck to be more specific in his work.
If Houck wants to take the guards and centers to focus on a specific blocking scheme, Phillips can stay with the tackles. Or if Houck wants to have a separate session for the starters, Phillips can handle the younger reserves.
“Overall, Wes was a big help last year and will be an even bigger help this year,” Houck said. “The fact that he’s been around me for a year should mean that he’ll feel more comfortable in coaching the techniques we want.”
Phillips, a quarterback at UT-El Paso and in an arena league, never played offensive line and has never coached the positions. Houck said that based upon what he saw from Phillips last year, the lack of experience is not a concern.
“I don’t think about this for my career as much as continuing to grow as a coach,” Phillips said. “I feel like a good coach can coach anything.”
That’s what Wes Phillips is now: a good coach serving an apprenticeship. He got here on his own. What he does with the chance is up to him.
