Slimmed-Down Phillips Enjoying Best Of Times
San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio, TX. Friday, July 23, 2010. His reputation as a perennial playoff loser isn’t the only thing Wade Phillips shed in the past seven months.

Through a mixture of diet and exercise, including jogging in the neighborhood around the team’s Irving headquarters, the Dallas Cowboys coach dropped nearly 40 pounds during the off-season, a team spokesman said.

“If I’m going to get my players in shape, it only makes sense that I ought to as well,” Phillips, 63, told friends in Beaumont recently. “You lead by example.”

The Cowboys arrive in San Antonio today for the start of training camp. Phillips and owner Jerry Jones will appear at an afternoon news conference, then attend the Cowboys Kickoff Spectacular at the Alamodome starting at 7 p.m.

Phillips’ new look underscores his sense of purpose as he prepares for his 34th NFL season, one that some pundits believe will end with the Cowboys winning Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium.

It can also be interpreted as a sign that Phillips is feeling great about himself and his job. As he begins preparations for his fourth season with the Cowboys, Phillips is said to possess a high comfort level that stems in part from finally knowing his system can produce results in the playoffs.

“You can just sense it when you are talking to him,” Jones said. “He’s so comfortable in himself around this team. ... He exudes that to me when I’m with him. You can feel that feeling he feels about this team. I sense that, and I hear it in his voice.”

Indeed, friends say these are the best of times for Phillips, who became a grandfather for the first time when Anna Phillips, wife of Cowboys offensive assistant Wes Phillips and the head coach’s daughter-in-law, gave birth last week to a girl they named Ivy Jo.

“Wade is very comfortable in what he’s doing and who he is,” said Beaumont mayor pro tem W.L. Pate Jr., a longtime friend who played high school football against Phillips in Southeast Texas. “And the thing about Wade is that he knows who he is. And who he is, is a good guy who happens to be coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”

Owning an 0-4 record in the playoffs as a head coach and coming off a 9-7 non-playoff season that included a late-season meltdown, Phillips faced enormous pressure at the start of last season.

Speculation about his future increased after two straight December losses. But Phillips maintained his poise, guiding the Cowboys to a stunning upset in New Orleans and back-to-back shutouts against Washington and Philadelphia that secured an 11-5 regular-season finish, an NFC East title and the belief that the club’s long playoff win drought was about to end.

On Jan. 9, it did. Led by another dominating performance by their Phillips-coordinated defense, the Cowboys pummeled the Eagles 34-14 in the wild-card round for their first playoff victory since the 1996 season.

While celebrating on the field, linebacker Keith Brooking stood behind Phillips and lifted a figurative monkey off his back.

“That was a big step for him and for our football team,” Brooking said.

Less than two weeks later, Jones ignored the 34-3 pounding Minnesota delivered the Cowboys in the divisional round and awarded Phillips an extension through the 2011 season, giving him a level of security he’s never experienced as a head coach.

“Here in Dallas, certainly at this time of my career, yes,” Phillips said. “We feel good about what we’re doing, the personnel we have, and the ownership has been great.”

Denver fired Phillips after he guided the Broncos to a 16-16 record in two seasons. He was 29-19 with Buffalo when the Bills dismissed him.

But Jones wasn’t about to jettison a coach whose .688 winning percentage is the best in team history.

“One of the things I’m most excited about is our coaching,” Jones said. “I like the continuity of Wade and what he is doing.”

Jones isn’t the only one singing Phillips’ praises. Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman, formerly coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers, said his staff has studied tapes of Phillips’ 3-4 defense as the Aggies prepare to adopt the alignment.

“He has really developed that defense into a special type of package,” Sherman said.

In coaching circles, Phillips is “extremely well respected,” Sherman said.

“When you look at the NFL, you have to look at longevity and who is able to keep a job for a long time, and obviously Wade is one of those guys,” Sherman said. “He’s never been unemployed. That guy has worked in the NFL for a number of years and done a great job wherever he’s been.”

Now, with the backing of Jones, Phillips has a chance to finish his career with the Cowboys.

“The key to anything in this business is to be able to have the time to do what you need to do,” Sherman said. “There is no magic wand. There is no quick fix. You have got to build it. That’s what the Cowboys are doing with Wade.”
 

[BACK TO ARTICLES PAGE]