'Old Jerry' won't meddle anymore
By MAC ENGEL
STAR-TELEGRAM
With Bill Parcells, Jerry Jones didn't have to worry about walking on egg shells, but others did.
IRVING -- The floors at Valley Ranch were recently covered with new carpet, probably to cover what Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones called "the egg shells" that once figuratively littered the floors under former coach Bill Parcells.
Not that Jones felt those broken shells under his feet, but he knows others did. By hiring Wade Phillips as his coach, Jones no longer has to worry about Parcells' moods, or any egg shells.
Jones tried it the Parcells way, and "it didn't work," he said.
He wants to prove that by hiring Phillips, another way can work. And that in the process not only can the relaxed Phillips succeed, but so can the general manager part of Jones' title that he knows often makes people nervous.
"The one thing that I should have shown any fan, I will work with a strong personality," Jones said Thursday. "I will work with a legitimate football person; we just hired another one right here."
Phillips is like Parcells in more than one way. They're both football lifers. They both use dry humor to illustrate their points. They're both defensive-oriented coaches. They both have gray hair.
That, however, is where the comparisons end.
Phillips is relaxed, whereas Parcells was nervous and edgy. Phillips is soft spoken whereas Parcells could crack a player's scalp with his wit.
Jones, however, worries about the perception that because Parcells left means the return of "the old Jerry," the Jones who is often painted as a meddlesome owner who presided over the departure of Jimmy Johnson, and the less-than-successful tenures of Chan Gailey and Dave Campo.
The four years with Parcells proved to Jones that he can step back and that he can work with a coach, not control him. That's what he intends to do with Phillips.
But Jones knows there will be skeptics, just as there were when he hired Parcells, who most NFL people agree would not have coached the Cowboys without almost total control.
Most notably, a Cowboys source said, it was Parcells who was overruled on the potential drafting of linebacker Shawne Merriman by Jones in the 2005 draft. The Cowboys took DeMarcus Ware, one pick ahead of Merriman, who was selected by the Chargers.
Expect Jones to be this active with Phillips as he was with Parcells.
What Jones said he learned from his time with Parcells is the desire for a hands-on coach in terms of player acquisition and off-season training and coaching programs. Expect more than the 40 off-season workouts Cowboys were expected to complete under Parcells.
And expect a lighter atmosphere at Valley Ranch without any egg shells covering the floors.
STAR-TELEGRAM
With Bill Parcells, Jerry Jones didn't have to worry about walking on egg shells, but others did.
IRVING -- The floors at Valley Ranch were recently covered with new carpet, probably to cover what Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones called "the egg shells" that once figuratively littered the floors under former coach Bill Parcells.
Not that Jones felt those broken shells under his feet, but he knows others did. By hiring Wade Phillips as his coach, Jones no longer has to worry about Parcells' moods, or any egg shells.
Jones tried it the Parcells way, and "it didn't work," he said.
He wants to prove that by hiring Phillips, another way can work. And that in the process not only can the relaxed Phillips succeed, but so can the general manager part of Jones' title that he knows often makes people nervous.
"The one thing that I should have shown any fan, I will work with a strong personality," Jones said Thursday. "I will work with a legitimate football person; we just hired another one right here."
Phillips is like Parcells in more than one way. They're both football lifers. They both use dry humor to illustrate their points. They're both defensive-oriented coaches. They both have gray hair.
That, however, is where the comparisons end.
Phillips is relaxed, whereas Parcells was nervous and edgy. Phillips is soft spoken whereas Parcells could crack a player's scalp with his wit.
Jones, however, worries about the perception that because Parcells left means the return of "the old Jerry," the Jones who is often painted as a meddlesome owner who presided over the departure of Jimmy Johnson, and the less-than-successful tenures of Chan Gailey and Dave Campo.
The four years with Parcells proved to Jones that he can step back and that he can work with a coach, not control him. That's what he intends to do with Phillips.
But Jones knows there will be skeptics, just as there were when he hired Parcells, who most NFL people agree would not have coached the Cowboys without almost total control.
Most notably, a Cowboys source said, it was Parcells who was overruled on the potential drafting of linebacker Shawne Merriman by Jones in the 2005 draft. The Cowboys took DeMarcus Ware, one pick ahead of Merriman, who was selected by the Chargers.
Expect Jones to be this active with Phillips as he was with Parcells.
What Jones said he learned from his time with Parcells is the desire for a hands-on coach in terms of player acquisition and off-season training and coaching programs. Expect more than the 40 off-season workouts Cowboys were expected to complete under Parcells.
And expect a lighter atmosphere at Valley Ranch without any egg shells covering the floors.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:31 AM
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