Wilson is a man on a Mission
By RICK HERRIN
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
IRVING -- Wade Wilson jumped at the chance for a Cowboys reunion.
He's back at Valley Ranch and actually surprised he's here. He's back with old buddy and former fellow backup Jason Garrett, and now in charge of a Pro Bowler.
"I was always hopeful to get back here, but I didn't know it would happen this quickly," said Wilson, who played 19 seasons in the league and in Dallas from 1995-1997. "It's not like you're coming back to a rebuilding situation. There are so many positives about being back here."
Wilson, the Cowboys' new quarterbacks coach, returned to Dallas for the third time, second as an assistant, after surprisingly getting out of his contract with Chicago. While he was once a backup for Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, he is now in charge of putting his fingerprints on the development of Tony Romo. It's a process that will determine whether Romo is the franchise's quarterback of the future.
"You see a guy with a ton of potential and a ton of upside," Wilson said of Romo.
Wilson, 48, spent the past three seasons as quarterbacks coach with the Bears. But Wilson didn't hesitate leaving behind a Super Bowl team for his home state, where he starred at Commerce High School and later his hometown East Texas State.
"Things worked out for the best for me," Wilson said.
Wilson goes from working with much-maligned quarterback Rex Grossman to Dallas' newest golden child.
"He has all the traits you would like to coach in a quarterback," Wilson said of Romo, who is 6-4 as a starter in the regular season. "You would just like to go out and try to hone those skills."
New Cowboys coach Wade Phillips sought Wilson, whom he didn't know well, partly because of his past with the franchise.
"I wanted guys that had some link to the past here, too, because I think the past is really important here -- the winning tradition and Super Bowls, those kinds of things," Phillips said. "I like to link to that as much as I can, also as long as the guy is a really good coach, which he is."
In his first stint with the Cowboys from 2000-2002, Wilson worked with a slew of quarterback failures in Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson, Clint Stoerner and Ryan Leaf. With Romo, he sees something different.
Romo said he heard plenty of good things about Wilson before the coach left for Chicago.
"I met Wade about four to five years ago when I first got in because he hadn't yet left here," Romo said.
"He was a good guy. From everybody that I talk to, they say he is as good a person as you can find."
Wilson said he expects Garrett to be very hands-on in working with the quarterbacks, including veteran Brad Johnson.
While Wilson and Garrett have never worked together, they played together in Dallas and talked often over the years.
"He played quarterback so long and knew so much about the position while he played it," Phillips said of Wilson. "Some guys turn into really good coaches that have played the position and I think he's one of those guys."
Wilson can provide perspective to Romo after serving as Aikman's backup, and knows the culture of being around the quarterback of America's Team.
"You have to teach a young guy, and I went through it with Rex last year a little bit," Wilson said.
"There are ups and downs throughout the course of the season and throughout the course of the game. It's how you handle all those situations and continue to be confident and play within yourself."
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
IRVING -- Wade Wilson jumped at the chance for a Cowboys reunion.
He's back at Valley Ranch and actually surprised he's here. He's back with old buddy and former fellow backup Jason Garrett, and now in charge of a Pro Bowler.
"I was always hopeful to get back here, but I didn't know it would happen this quickly," said Wilson, who played 19 seasons in the league and in Dallas from 1995-1997. "It's not like you're coming back to a rebuilding situation. There are so many positives about being back here."
Wilson, the Cowboys' new quarterbacks coach, returned to Dallas for the third time, second as an assistant, after surprisingly getting out of his contract with Chicago. While he was once a backup for Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, he is now in charge of putting his fingerprints on the development of Tony Romo. It's a process that will determine whether Romo is the franchise's quarterback of the future.
"You see a guy with a ton of potential and a ton of upside," Wilson said of Romo.
Wilson, 48, spent the past three seasons as quarterbacks coach with the Bears. But Wilson didn't hesitate leaving behind a Super Bowl team for his home state, where he starred at Commerce High School and later his hometown East Texas State.
"Things worked out for the best for me," Wilson said.
Wilson goes from working with much-maligned quarterback Rex Grossman to Dallas' newest golden child.
"He has all the traits you would like to coach in a quarterback," Wilson said of Romo, who is 6-4 as a starter in the regular season. "You would just like to go out and try to hone those skills."
New Cowboys coach Wade Phillips sought Wilson, whom he didn't know well, partly because of his past with the franchise.
"I wanted guys that had some link to the past here, too, because I think the past is really important here -- the winning tradition and Super Bowls, those kinds of things," Phillips said. "I like to link to that as much as I can, also as long as the guy is a really good coach, which he is."
In his first stint with the Cowboys from 2000-2002, Wilson worked with a slew of quarterback failures in Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson, Clint Stoerner and Ryan Leaf. With Romo, he sees something different.
Romo said he heard plenty of good things about Wilson before the coach left for Chicago.
"I met Wade about four to five years ago when I first got in because he hadn't yet left here," Romo said.
"He was a good guy. From everybody that I talk to, they say he is as good a person as you can find."
Wilson said he expects Garrett to be very hands-on in working with the quarterbacks, including veteran Brad Johnson.
While Wilson and Garrett have never worked together, they played together in Dallas and talked often over the years.
"He played quarterback so long and knew so much about the position while he played it," Phillips said of Wilson. "Some guys turn into really good coaches that have played the position and I think he's one of those guys."
Wilson can provide perspective to Romo after serving as Aikman's backup, and knows the culture of being around the quarterback of America's Team.
"You have to teach a young guy, and I went through it with Rex last year a little bit," Wilson said.
"There are ups and downs throughout the course of the season and throughout the course of the game. It's how you handle all those situations and continue to be confident and play within yourself."
posted by The Gryphon at 8:56 AM
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