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2008-2009 Regular Season: Attempting To Be What You
Are Not
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- October 20, 2008 At
12:21 PM EST
- By
Eric M. Scharf
Where to begin, errrr, where to repeat myself? So, the 49ers, who
seem like they have been losing for decades, decide to terminate
Nolan after the 7th game. The York family has had it with the
losing, even though it is not entirely Nolan's fault, and even
though elevating Singletary may not immediately stop the bleeding.
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- None-the-less, in all of sports (and mostly professional sports),
the coach is generally the first person to go when player results go
south.
There is a loose correlation, however, regarding coaches, between
the 49ers situation and that of our Cowboys. What is Nolan? He is a
defensive specialist who demands great play and discipline . . . on
defense. He had actually coached on offense, years ago, as a wide
receivers coach, too, if I am correct, but not for long enough to be
absolutely valid.
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- What does this have to do with the Cowboys? Well,
Wade Phillips's strength is as a defensive coordinator but,
evidently, without much of the discipline that Nolan typically
demands from his players (remember the solid defenses Nolan put
together for Baltimore, and, dare my memory let me down, the
Redskins?).
So, if Wade knows defense, but he will not demand and cannot command
discipline from his players (because, as he sees it, “They are grown
men, and they should be able to police themselves"), then . . . what
can he do for the Cowboys as their head coach?
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- The only head coach I
recall being able to get away with being unemotional during a game
or an interview (and still be able to command respect from everyone
in the immediate area) was the immortal and beloved Tom Landry. You
knew, however, that underneath his cool veneer he was seething
whenever he was being interviewed after a loss (a mental
mistake-driven loss, no-less).
Coach Landry had perfected the stink eye without giving it away.
Parcells would give you the stink eye and try to verbally destroy
you as soon as possible. Coach Landry just had that face of stone
(right up until the last year or two of his tenure), and you just
wish you were a fly on the wall on that locker room if the Cowboys
underperformed. Landry had it, Johnson had it, and Parcells still
has it, even from his now-executive perch. Wade, obviously, does not
have it, nor does he think it is necessary.
Wade can take over the play-calling if he wishes (even though he
should be able to recognize when a bad formation has been called and
quickly inform Stewart of his mistake, or take a precious timeout,
if necessary), and he can simplify the game plans, but he needs to
find a way to demand-and-command accountability and discipline.
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- Finding a way does not, in fact, require Wade Phillips to act
towards his players just like Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson, or Bill
Parcells did to their own, but it does require Wade to study from
the mental playbook they all seemed to share, to see what is missing
from his own.
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