Damien Woody lauds Bill Callahan
By Todd Archer
IRVING, Texas -- Damien Woody was an offensive lineman for Bill Callahan for three years with the New York Jets, and he can’t say enough good things about the Cowboys new offensive line coach.
And it sounds like Callahan can’t wait to get started.
“I talked to him yesterday,” said Woody, who is now an analyst for ESPN. “He was definitely excited. Just excited for the fact of that organization and the rich tradition the Cowboys have and the personnel on offense. He’s really excited about the personnel on offense, the personnel of the offensive line. He knows it’s a young group but it’s a talented group. He’s going to be a good fit for the Dallas Cowboys.”
Callahan is replacing Hudson Houck, who elected to retire earlier in the week. Callahan spent the last four seasons with the Jets after a four-year run at Nebraska.
“He’s a meticulous man,” Woody said. “He’s not going to leave any stone unturned. That’s the one thing about him. He’s meticulous in everything: the classroom, on the field. He’s a real stickler on technique. But the one thing I like about him is he listens to the players. He’s open. His whole thing is he’s not going to make players do something they’re not comfortable with. At the end of the day if the players feel like it worked better one way, he’ll listen.”
The Jets’ line had something called the “Breakfast Club,” and they would meet before the rest of the team would get in the building to start the day.
“We always had the longest meetings of probably any position group on the team because we just went over everything,” Woody said. “Every little detail we’d go over.”
With the Jets, Woody said Callahan worked man and zone blocking schemes.
“When I first got there, we were kind of like a power, just straight man on man blocking,” Woody said, “but as time wore on we incorporated the zone more into our blocking schemes. He’s versatile. We did both and were successful with both with the Jets. It doesn’t matter to him he knows how to get it done the way the offensive coordinator wants to get it done.”
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