was sinking fast when the season was over last year. He knew his patch of thin ice already had a massive crack all the way around. So what does he do?
He goes out and gets his guys. His special teams coach that he knows and trusts. And truth be told, Joe DeCamillis is still the best addition this team has had all year. But it was under Wade's influence.
Wade gets an aging linebacker in Keith Brooking that he knows and trusts. Brooking turns out to lead be a huge factor on defense, but developed as the emotional leader of the team.
Wade gets Igor Olshansky for half the price of Chris Canty's contract with the Giants. As it turns out, Olshansky, who played for Wade with the Chargers, not only turns out to be a better value, but even a better fit this year.
Wade didn't get Sensabaugh in here, but he trusted coaches like DeCamillis and Dave Campo, who both had him in Jacksonville. Turns out he was a huge factor in the secondary this year and helped both cornerbacks play at the highest level of any cornerback duo we've seen in more than 10 years.
It's been three years and I think we can finally put this "Bill's guys" thing to rest. Sure, Parcells helped with a lot of this talent. But this is now Wade's team. He's got his stamp on this team and he's taken it to a higher level than any coach has in the last dozen years.
You don't mess this up right now. The defense is way too good to be tinkering with it.
And really, you're not going to find anyone better for what you're getting right now. Any of these other coaches who have TV jobs aren't getting out of that chair for pennies. So why go out and pay a guy like Cowher or Gruden, not knowing if they're really going to be able to do a better job than 11-5 and a playoff win. And, you're not even sure there's even going to be a football season in 2011. The last thing you want to do, other than pay a coach $6-7 million a season, is to pay that much for a guy not to coach.
Plain and simple, Wade Phillips will be back next year. It's the smart thing to do. It's the right thing to do, and most importantly, he's earned it.
