Phillips focuses on building trust
Coach hopes Cowboys' off-season program promotes team unity
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – When Wade Phillips was named the Cowboys' head coach Feb. 8, he did not have a team meeting the next day.
"That's the strange thing about being a head coach in pro football: You don't get to walk in and say hello to the team," Phillips said. "You're the head coach and there's nobody here, for a few weeks, anyway."
However, the pace has picked up at Valley Ranch as players have begun their off-season workouts. The official off-season program begins Monday, and Phillips wants to see the same participation level achieved by his predecessor, Bill Parcells.
"It's voluntary, but it's keeping up with everybody else, too," Phillips said. "Now is when you get to be with your teammates, see them work, and you realize they're working as hard as you are. That makes for a better team. You trust guys and you're loyal to a guy you work with."
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones became a big fan of the off-season program under Parcells, and Phillips has sent a letter to every player detailing the off-season workouts.
Parcells was omnipresent during the conditioning program, and that helped strength and conditioning coach Joe Juraszek push the players. It was where Parcells built relationships with the players, prodding and cajoling them.
The work put in there, Parcells believed, was directly correlated to the team's health during the season.
"I'm a hands-on coach, and plus I need to get to know the players," Phillips said. "We won't have a formal team meeting until we have our mandatory minicamp after the draft. I've seen a lot of the players already, but I want to get to know the players [more] from being around them a little bit."
Phillips will have an excused absence the first few days of the program as he attends the owners' meetings. But he expects most – if not all – of the players to be at the voluntary program at some point.
The injured players, like Greg Ellis, who is coming off a torn Achilles' tendon, will continue to rehabilitate. The healthy players will work with Juraszek four days a week, lifting weights and running.
Juraszek put the players through sessions he calls "football similar," and each player will have a tailor-made plan for off-season goals.
The major difference between this off-season and the ones run by Parcells will be the amount of football-specific things the Cowboys do.
JOHN F. RHODES / DMN
Coach Wade Phillips hopes for a large turnout during voluntary workouts, which officially kick off Monday.
"It isn't all lifting, hopping, skipping and running," Phillips said. "Joe does a great job working on their weaknesses and getting them stronger in the right areas and faster, but we can meet with them and have a little time on the field as long as there isn't any team stuff going on."
With changes to the 3-4 scheme the Cowboys used under Parcells, different terminology in the passing game under new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and a new special teams coach in Bruce Read, Phillips wants to implement all the changes before training camp begins in late July in San Antonio.
The Cowboys are going to spend more time on the field before training camp than they did under Parcells.
Phillips is considering holding a second full-scale minicamp and using 14 days for so-called "on-field team activities" – the maximum number allowed in the off-season.
"That's where we'll do a lot of our teaching," Phillips said.
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – When Wade Phillips was named the Cowboys' head coach Feb. 8, he did not have a team meeting the next day.
"That's the strange thing about being a head coach in pro football: You don't get to walk in and say hello to the team," Phillips said. "You're the head coach and there's nobody here, for a few weeks, anyway."
However, the pace has picked up at Valley Ranch as players have begun their off-season workouts. The official off-season program begins Monday, and Phillips wants to see the same participation level achieved by his predecessor, Bill Parcells.
"It's voluntary, but it's keeping up with everybody else, too," Phillips said. "Now is when you get to be with your teammates, see them work, and you realize they're working as hard as you are. That makes for a better team. You trust guys and you're loyal to a guy you work with."
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones became a big fan of the off-season program under Parcells, and Phillips has sent a letter to every player detailing the off-season workouts.
Parcells was omnipresent during the conditioning program, and that helped strength and conditioning coach Joe Juraszek push the players. It was where Parcells built relationships with the players, prodding and cajoling them.
The work put in there, Parcells believed, was directly correlated to the team's health during the season.
"I'm a hands-on coach, and plus I need to get to know the players," Phillips said. "We won't have a formal team meeting until we have our mandatory minicamp after the draft. I've seen a lot of the players already, but I want to get to know the players [more] from being around them a little bit."
Phillips will have an excused absence the first few days of the program as he attends the owners' meetings. But he expects most – if not all – of the players to be at the voluntary program at some point.
The injured players, like Greg Ellis, who is coming off a torn Achilles' tendon, will continue to rehabilitate. The healthy players will work with Juraszek four days a week, lifting weights and running.
Juraszek put the players through sessions he calls "football similar," and each player will have a tailor-made plan for off-season goals.
The major difference between this off-season and the ones run by Parcells will be the amount of football-specific things the Cowboys do.
JOHN F. RHODES / DMN
Coach Wade Phillips hopes for a large turnout during voluntary workouts, which officially kick off Monday.
"It isn't all lifting, hopping, skipping and running," Phillips said. "Joe does a great job working on their weaknesses and getting them stronger in the right areas and faster, but we can meet with them and have a little time on the field as long as there isn't any team stuff going on."
With changes to the 3-4 scheme the Cowboys used under Parcells, different terminology in the passing game under new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and a new special teams coach in Bruce Read, Phillips wants to implement all the changes before training camp begins in late July in San Antonio.
The Cowboys are going to spend more time on the field before training camp than they did under Parcells.
Phillips is considering holding a second full-scale minicamp and using 14 days for so-called "on-field team activities" – the maximum number allowed in the off-season.
"That's where we'll do a lot of our teaching," Phillips said.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:37 AM
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