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Wade Phillips: 'I went out with the same winning percentage as Tom Landry'
01:11 AM CST on Tuesday, November 23, 2010
SportsDayDFW.com
Former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys Wade Phillips was interviewed on WXTG (102.1 The Game) in Virginia Beach on the Bruce Smith show. Here are some highlights:
Was it unnecessary to be fired mid-season?
Oh, you know I don't look at things that way. Once things are done, that's history. Whatever's happened has happened and go forward. So, I can't look back at anything except I worked as hard as I could and did the best job I could and it was somebody else's decision. And I'm always going to do that: I'm going to work as hard as I can and try to do the best job I can.
Can a coach be too nice to be the head coach of an NFL football team?
Well, I think perception and reality are different things. I just don't believe you berate a guy into being a better player. I'm from the teaching standpoint that you teach them what to do and help them do better rather than, after the fact, cuss somebody out. So, I don't think that's the way. I don't think that's the real way a coach does it. I think a real coach helps a player to get better and even if they've played a long time. I tried to help Bruce. I didn't help him much because he was already such a great player but you still try and do that.
Would you take a defensive coordinator or another head coaching position if it became available?
Well, I would. I just think the perception is, once you're fired that you're not a very good coach and that's...it happened to me at Buffalo; we were 29-19 in Buffalo. Once I was fired there, I couldn't get a head coaching job because they thought I wasn't a good enough coach. They didn't look at my record; they just said, "Oh gosh, he's fired so we got to get somebody else."
It took me a long time to get another head coaching job and we went 34-22, which is pretty good. I went out with the same winning percentage as Tom Landry, so I don't feel bad about my head coaching career but I think they're going to look at me more as a coordinator and that's fine with me. I just want to coach.
What was the problem in Dallas?
Well, it wasn't a problem before this year. We had the most wins in the NFC and the second most wins in the league the last three years, so we didn't have a whole lot of problems going into this year. It seems like expectations were high certainly and we lost some close games. I think you remember the first year I was at Buffalo; we lost the first three games. But anyways, we came close but we didn't win in Buffalo in those games but we came back and won. I think they're going to do the same thing here. We got a lot of good players and we just lose some close games that seem like we shouldn't have lost but we did.
Do you plan to coach again in the future?
Yea, I'd like to...I got 33-34 years now in the league and I enjoy coaching. I enjoy the players and you know, once you're away from it, even for a small amount of time, you miss the camaraderie. Just the great feeling of guys working together and the people involved, so I'd like to get back into it. I think there will be an opening somewhere for defensive coordinator that has a pretty good reputation.
On father and son coaching tandems:
Yea, you know, that is the tougher part of being the son. My dad was a coach and I was a coordinator for him in New Orleans. You got to prove yourself, no matter who you are but fortunately for me in New Orleans, we led the league in a lot of categories in defense and that helped a lot in that area. But Kyle did a really good job in Houston for him and I think he's a good coach in his own right and I think you got to look at them for what they're doing and not whether they're the son or the kid of the coach or not.
• • •
01:11 AM CST on Tuesday, November 23, 2010
SportsDayDFW.com
Former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys Wade Phillips was interviewed on WXTG (102.1 The Game) in Virginia Beach on the Bruce Smith show. Here are some highlights:
Was it unnecessary to be fired mid-season?
Oh, you know I don't look at things that way. Once things are done, that's history. Whatever's happened has happened and go forward. So, I can't look back at anything except I worked as hard as I could and did the best job I could and it was somebody else's decision. And I'm always going to do that: I'm going to work as hard as I can and try to do the best job I can.
Can a coach be too nice to be the head coach of an NFL football team?
Well, I think perception and reality are different things. I just don't believe you berate a guy into being a better player. I'm from the teaching standpoint that you teach them what to do and help them do better rather than, after the fact, cuss somebody out. So, I don't think that's the way. I don't think that's the real way a coach does it. I think a real coach helps a player to get better and even if they've played a long time. I tried to help Bruce. I didn't help him much because he was already such a great player but you still try and do that.
Would you take a defensive coordinator or another head coaching position if it became available?
Well, I would. I just think the perception is, once you're fired that you're not a very good coach and that's...it happened to me at Buffalo; we were 29-19 in Buffalo. Once I was fired there, I couldn't get a head coaching job because they thought I wasn't a good enough coach. They didn't look at my record; they just said, "Oh gosh, he's fired so we got to get somebody else."
It took me a long time to get another head coaching job and we went 34-22, which is pretty good. I went out with the same winning percentage as Tom Landry, so I don't feel bad about my head coaching career but I think they're going to look at me more as a coordinator and that's fine with me. I just want to coach.
What was the problem in Dallas?
Well, it wasn't a problem before this year. We had the most wins in the NFC and the second most wins in the league the last three years, so we didn't have a whole lot of problems going into this year. It seems like expectations were high certainly and we lost some close games. I think you remember the first year I was at Buffalo; we lost the first three games. But anyways, we came close but we didn't win in Buffalo in those games but we came back and won. I think they're going to do the same thing here. We got a lot of good players and we just lose some close games that seem like we shouldn't have lost but we did.
Do you plan to coach again in the future?
Yea, I'd like to...I got 33-34 years now in the league and I enjoy coaching. I enjoy the players and you know, once you're away from it, even for a small amount of time, you miss the camaraderie. Just the great feeling of guys working together and the people involved, so I'd like to get back into it. I think there will be an opening somewhere for defensive coordinator that has a pretty good reputation.
On father and son coaching tandems:
Yea, you know, that is the tougher part of being the son. My dad was a coach and I was a coordinator for him in New Orleans. You got to prove yourself, no matter who you are but fortunately for me in New Orleans, we led the league in a lot of categories in defense and that helped a lot in that area. But Kyle did a really good job in Houston for him and I think he's a good coach in his own right and I think you got to look at them for what they're doing and not whether they're the son or the kid of the coach or not.
• • •
