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Sherrington: With Wade Phillips in charge, a comeback like '07 Giants' unlikely
12:30 AM CDT on Tuesday, September 21, 2010
COLUMN By KEVIN SHERRINGTON / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – Good news: The 2007 Giants provide historical precedent affirming it's not impossible to come back from an awful 0-2 start and actually win a Super Bowl.
Bad news: The Giants weren't coached by Wade Phillips.
Before you take this as another knee-jerk round of Phillips-bashing, consider the task he faces compared with Tom Coughlin's in '07, their respective coaching tools and a job environment so toxic here it could burst into flames any moment.
Coming off a disappointing '06 season in which the Giants had won twice in the last two months, Coughlin, 61, had nearly lost his job. Players openly questioned his authoritarian style. The Giants' owners brought him back, but with a caveat: He had to change.
And in a makeover almost as big as the one in which Nate Newton cut himself in half, Coughlin lightened up.
Granted, the change didn't translate into wins immediately. But after losses to Dallas and Green Bay, the Giants ran off six in a row, finishing 10-6.
And after a remarkable playoff run, they beat New England in the Super Bowl.
How did Coughlin's personality change help? He instituted a leadership council of 11 players who gave him regular input. They stopped seeing him as an iron-willed adversary. In turn, they learned he wasn't only out to make their lives miserable.
Compare Coughlin's situation with that of Phillips: As far as coaching styles go, it's like a drill instructor and camp counselor. Phillips contends screaming doesn't instill discipline, and he's right. Coaching is about holding players accountable on every play and making them understand there are repercussions. Don't tell the media they played well most of the time. You can't let a player think it's OK to execute most of the time.
Because of the allowances, the Cowboys sometimes take advantage of Phillips. The issue came up again Sunday, when Terence Newman questioned the practice environment. He didn't blame Phillips, instead putting it on the players.
Still, Phillips snapped at the line of questioning Monday. Why? Because he knew what the comments implied, or at least he thought he did: The head coach isn't in charge.
If you have enough character and leadership on your team – and Phillips says he does – you don't necessarily need an authoritarian coach. Combined with the talent on hand, that assumption accounted for all the Super Bowl forecasts.
Unfortunately for Phillips, it's now clear his roster doesn't have that makeup. Or not enough of it, anyway. How else do you explain the last two games with talent considered this good?
What this team needs is for Phillips to take a firm hand, which is not his nature or inclination even now.
"I'm not gonna change," he said. "I'm not gonna be the guy that hollers at you. I don't believe in that.
"If you holler at me, I might not do it at all."
Coughlin changed, and he said there was no doubt it led to the winning streak and a Super Bowl trophy.
To his credit, even if Phillips tried to toughen up, it probably wouldn't do much good. Any junior high teacher will tell you that, in order to establish lines of authority and keep SWAT teams off alert, you must start out with high expectations. Once a standard is established, you can ease off. In fact, it's recommended.
But start easy and you'll never get them back. Try to act tough later, and they won't take you seriously.
Phillips has other obstacles to overcome. First is the schedule. The '07 Giants won six straight games against teams that finished a combined 31-65 that season. They were 4-4 the last eight games against teams that finished 75-53.
The Cowboys' next six opponents were 55-41 last season. Their last eight were 73-55.
Of course, not everyone looks as good as they were last season. The Cowboys, for instance.
And here's something else Coughlin didn't have to put up with: Jerry Jones. He didn't have to work for an owner who acts as his own GM, routinely allows players to go over the coach's head and hired his next head coach before the current one was in place.
None of this is to say Phillips can't pull it off. He might. He might also come out snarling like Vince Lombardi. As your analyst might say, I wouldn't bet on either one.
12:30 AM CDT on Tuesday, September 21, 2010
COLUMN By KEVIN SHERRINGTON / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – Good news: The 2007 Giants provide historical precedent affirming it's not impossible to come back from an awful 0-2 start and actually win a Super Bowl.
Bad news: The Giants weren't coached by Wade Phillips.
Before you take this as another knee-jerk round of Phillips-bashing, consider the task he faces compared with Tom Coughlin's in '07, their respective coaching tools and a job environment so toxic here it could burst into flames any moment.
Coming off a disappointing '06 season in which the Giants had won twice in the last two months, Coughlin, 61, had nearly lost his job. Players openly questioned his authoritarian style. The Giants' owners brought him back, but with a caveat: He had to change.
And in a makeover almost as big as the one in which Nate Newton cut himself in half, Coughlin lightened up.
Granted, the change didn't translate into wins immediately. But after losses to Dallas and Green Bay, the Giants ran off six in a row, finishing 10-6.
And after a remarkable playoff run, they beat New England in the Super Bowl.
How did Coughlin's personality change help? He instituted a leadership council of 11 players who gave him regular input. They stopped seeing him as an iron-willed adversary. In turn, they learned he wasn't only out to make their lives miserable.
Compare Coughlin's situation with that of Phillips: As far as coaching styles go, it's like a drill instructor and camp counselor. Phillips contends screaming doesn't instill discipline, and he's right. Coaching is about holding players accountable on every play and making them understand there are repercussions. Don't tell the media they played well most of the time. You can't let a player think it's OK to execute most of the time.
Because of the allowances, the Cowboys sometimes take advantage of Phillips. The issue came up again Sunday, when Terence Newman questioned the practice environment. He didn't blame Phillips, instead putting it on the players.
Still, Phillips snapped at the line of questioning Monday. Why? Because he knew what the comments implied, or at least he thought he did: The head coach isn't in charge.
If you have enough character and leadership on your team – and Phillips says he does – you don't necessarily need an authoritarian coach. Combined with the talent on hand, that assumption accounted for all the Super Bowl forecasts.
Unfortunately for Phillips, it's now clear his roster doesn't have that makeup. Or not enough of it, anyway. How else do you explain the last two games with talent considered this good?
What this team needs is for Phillips to take a firm hand, which is not his nature or inclination even now.
"I'm not gonna change," he said. "I'm not gonna be the guy that hollers at you. I don't believe in that.
"If you holler at me, I might not do it at all."
Coughlin changed, and he said there was no doubt it led to the winning streak and a Super Bowl trophy.
To his credit, even if Phillips tried to toughen up, it probably wouldn't do much good. Any junior high teacher will tell you that, in order to establish lines of authority and keep SWAT teams off alert, you must start out with high expectations. Once a standard is established, you can ease off. In fact, it's recommended.
But start easy and you'll never get them back. Try to act tough later, and they won't take you seriously.
Phillips has other obstacles to overcome. First is the schedule. The '07 Giants won six straight games against teams that finished a combined 31-65 that season. They were 4-4 the last eight games against teams that finished 75-53.
The Cowboys' next six opponents were 55-41 last season. Their last eight were 73-55.
Of course, not everyone looks as good as they were last season. The Cowboys, for instance.
And here's something else Coughlin didn't have to put up with: Jerry Jones. He didn't have to work for an owner who acts as his own GM, routinely allows players to go over the coach's head and hired his next head coach before the current one was in place.
None of this is to say Phillips can't pull it off. He might. He might also come out snarling like Vince Lombardi. As your analyst might say, I wouldn't bet on either one.
