Post by prossman on Mar 26, 2009 6:07:55 GMT -7
DANA POINT, Calif. — The last time he talked in a news conference — Dec. 29 — Wade Phillips promised change. The Dallas Cowboys have, he says, delivered.
Since then, the day after a 44-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that denied the Cowboys a playoff berth, Dallas has fired its defensive coordinator, released Adam "Pacman" Jones and Terrell Owens, signed three veteran free-agent defensive players and traded for a backup quarterback.
Phillips, speaking to reporters for 55 minutes at the NFC’s Coaches’ Breakfast on Wednesday, said the Cowboys have made other subtle changes, too.
"Obviously, there’s been change already and some of it’s modification. It’s an adjustment," Phillips said. "Those things are change, too. Everybody is going to say, 'Hey, you ought to be a tyrant instead of the person you are.’ I have a lot of pride in how I work with players and how they respond to how I coach. There’s going to be certainly some things that we’ll do different, but I’m not going to go into everything we’re going to do different. I think it’ll be noticed as we go along."
One thing that hasn’t changed is who the Cowboys head coach is. Phillips, who has a 22-11 record, including a playoff loss, in two seasons in Dallas, remains despite postseason speculation that his job was in jeopardy. It is the second chance he didn’t get in Denver or Buffalo.
"In most cases, it takes about four years to find out how good a coach is," Phillips said. "I can tell you that. It takes about four years to get a championship-type team put together. We were expected, because [we’re] Dallas, to do it one maybe two years, and we haven’t done that. I’m disappointed we haven’t, but I think we will."
What kind of player are the Buffalo Bills getting in Terrell Owens? He’s an outstanding player. Obviously, I think his numbers are going to be the second-best ever [in NFL history]. He’s going to be in great shape. He’s a hard worker. All the things you want in a football player. I think they’re getting a really good football player. One thing you’ve got to look at with players is production. He’s been probably the most productive receiver in the last several years anyway.
So why cut him? Because we feel like we can go forward with the guys we have. We think we have some emerging players that are going to make a difference.
Jerry Jones said cutting Owens makes the Cowboys more "Romo-friendly." Do you think Romo will be a better quarterback without Owens? Tony’s progress is not directly related to the players that he’s throwing the ball to, even handing the ball to. It’s directly related to him and what he does and his decision-making. That’s part of experience as a quarterback. I think he’ll gain, and he has gained, as he’s gone along. He is a winning quarterback, 21-8 in the last two years, so I think that’s significant. But he wants to get to the second level, as we do. He works at it, and that’s the great thing about Tony.
What was your level of input on the defense last year? Basically, the theory of the defense and how we play things, all our pass coverages, our fronts, our rushes, our blitzes, all those things, I’ve been in charge of and always have been and always will be. I’m more hands on now as far as being in the meetings and on the field teaching, and that’s really the difference.
Now that you’re the defensive coordinator, too, are you concerned you won’t be spending as much time with the offense? I think it’s the same with most head coaches. They’re either one side of the ball or the other. You see the other side of the ball, but you have confidence, which I do in Jason Garrett, and we’ve got a great staff over there. That’s not going to change a whole lot. I talk to Jason a lot.
Does the trade for Jon Kitna give you a little more confidence in your backup quarterback situation? We needed one more win certainly, and we would’ve been in the playoffs. I was disappointed when Tony was out that we only won one out of three. We basically won two out of three with Tony. That one game cost us the playoffs. We feel like Kitna has a lot of arm strength, talent and is a good leader. The good thing is he’s worked with [receiver] Roy Williams. He really loves Roy Williams, and they really have a great relationship, which added to getting a new quarterback in. He’s excited about being a Dallas Cowboy, which a lot of players are.
Would this off-season have been less crazy if you had won one more game in Romo’s absence? … That did not happen, so that’s why we are where we are. That’s why we go into the next season with a lot of confidence that we can win.
You’ve got three good running backs. Will your offensive philosophy maybe change a little bit with more emphasis on the run? Felix Jones showed pretty quickly what his talent was. Marion Barber, we know his talent, and he was hurt also. Tashard Choice comes in and shows he can play, so you know it gives you more versatility, more things you can do. The running game I think will be a bigger factor with us. We’ve been [ranked] in the 20s as far as running offense the last couple of years, and we’d like to move up there.
Will Barber move back to the closer role? I think he’s in that role. I think he’s closed, but again he was hurt some so …
Was Pacman Jones worth it? He actually played pretty well. Production on the field, he did a lot of good things. He had the most pass breakups of any of our defensive backs last year. Of course, [Terence] Newman was hurt a lot of the year last year, but [Jones] made some plays though he didn’t make the interceptions we would’ve liked or the return stuff we would’ve liked. But we didn’t win the games we would’ve liked.