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IRVING, Texas -- The reaction to Wade Phillips being hired
as coach of the Dallas Cowboys might've best been summed up by one
of his sisters. She couldn't contain her excitement when he walked
in for his introductory news conference Thursday night. "Yeah, Wade!" she hollered. From his former colleagues in San Diego to the folks he'll soon
be coaching in Dallas, there was plenty of praise and excitement
surrounding the hiring of Phillips -- and only some of it had to do
with his cheery personality being the opposite of predecessor Bill
Parcells. "I've just heard great things," quarterback Tony Romo said.
"I'm going to get a hold of a few Chargers when we sit around the
bar tonight and find out what they can tell me. He's going to bring
a smart defensive mind to the team, and he's obviously been in this
position before, so the transition should be really good." Those likely to benefit most are on defense, specifically
linebacker DeMarcus Ware. Already a Pro Bowl quarterback-hunter,
he's eager to learn more from the coach who helped turn Shawne
Merriman into one of the NFL's top defensive players. "I've already talked to Merriman about him and he got me all
excited about playing for him," said Ware, who the Cowboys picked
over Merriman in 2005. "He's going to utilize all of his talent
and we've got a lot of talent for him to use. ... This is probably
one of the greatest guys in the league that we could get." Phillips has been a head coach or defensive coordinator for all
but one year since 1981. Over his last 18 seasons, his defenses
have been regulars near the league leaders, including the past
three years in San Diego. "It's going to be great for Dallas' defense," Chargers
defensive end Luis Castillo said. "Those guys are going to love
his system. They're going to do a lot more moving, a lot more
blitzing. They're going to have a lot more opportunities to make
plays. ... He knows how it's supposed to be done. He's going to get
those guys playing hard and playing right." San Diego safety Marlon McCree bolstered Phillips' reputation as
a "players' coach." "I enjoyed playing for Wade a great deal," he said. "He
really understands his players' strengths and does a great job of
playing to those strengths." Despite Phillips' background being in defense, his offenses have
ranked pretty highly the five seasons he's been a head coach. In
Dallas, he inherits a unit that scored the fourth-most points, and
second-most touchdowns, in the NFL last season. "I'm excited to see what kind of impact he'll have on our
team," Cowboys tight end Jason Witten said. "I think we should be
able to pick up right where we left off. We've got a lot of talent,
and there's no reason we should have to take a step back. I think
(Phillips) is the kind of coach who can keep us at the level we've
reached and get us to go further." In addition to Phillips' two sisters and his wife joining him at
the news conference, he was joined by the other coaches in the
Phillips clan: his son, Wes, who is the quarterbacks coach at
Baylor, and his father, Bum, the former coach of the Houston Oilers
and New Orleans Saints. When Bum was coaching the Oilers in the 1970s, he famously said
of the Cowboys: "They may be 'America's Team,' but we're Texas'
team." What does he think now? "Well, I still live in Houston, so it's kind of between a rock
and a hard spot," he said. "Your son is coaching one team and the
other team is the town you love more than any other. It's kind of
hard to pull. "They're not on the schedule, so I don't have to make that
decision this year."
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