obviously forgetting Lovie Smith took the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl or that Tony Dungy won a Super Bowl with the Colts, neither guy rarely raising their voices or shaking their fists or overturning the lunch spreads.
In fact, someone actually defended such dictator tactics, wanting to compare how many Super Bowls Parcells won (2) to how many Wade Phillips has won (0). And look, don't get me wrong here. I like Bill. I liked shooting the bull with Bill. I acknowledge how he helped put this team together and this franchise back on its feet. The Cowboys always will owe him a debt of gratitude, although as much as Jerry Jones paid him, not sure where the debt lies.
But if winning Super Bowls is the measure of a man's success, then Almighty Bill is 2-for-19 with his perpetual scare tactics, a lifetime subscriber to the glass half empty theory. At bat, they call 2-for-19 a slump. Under center, they call for the backup quarterback. From the field, they call for the sixth man.
Come on, be fair, and this is only Wade's seventh year as a full-time head coach.
Sorry for going off subject. Back to Wade's protective demeanor, one which took offense to a reporter using the word "stunk" when describing his team's play in a postgame question Sunday evening. Going to let Tank Johnson jump in here, since he once played for Lovie Smith in Chicago.
"He didn't raise his voice because guys respected him and we respect Wade," Tank said. And when asked if guys on the team should criticize each other for the way they played against Cincinnati, he fired back, "Why would we want to stir up the pot? You guys do that enough."
Or this from Keith Davis.
"We'll discuss it," the veteran safety/special teams player said. "What he tells us and what he tells you guys might be two different things. We know we can do better. We'll get in the room, watch film and fix what we did wrong."
You mean without yelling a screaming?
"If he did that, he would have lost a lot of us," Davis said. "I like his style."
Phillips has his way of getting his point across, and just because the Cowboys were beaten by Washington and then nearly squandered a 17-0 lead against Cincinnati doesn't mean no one is paying any attention to him. Your dad ever give you the eye?
But if all this is about yelling and screaming, then guess the Eagles aren't listening to Andy Reid anymore and the Colts aren't listening to Dungy anymore since they had to come from way behind just to beat the Texans or Jack Del Rio is not pounding the tables enough for the 2-3 Jaguars.
If only coaching was so simple, so black and white.
"Wade just doesn't break the blackboard or pound podiums or throw microphones into the crowd," Cowboys linebacker Bradie James said. "He is very honest, very honest . . . ."
With his players, that is.
"You all are hard on coach," James said, "because he doesn't act like you want him to."
And you know what? He won't. Phillips is pretty darn stubborn, not exactly an ingredient for cupcakes.
And you know what? He's not delusional. He knows exactly what the tape suggests about the Cowboys, about their defense, about their offense. He knows the Cowboys must once again address their special teams' issues. He knows they must get better in pass coverage. He knows this offense must take better care of the ball.
But far be it for him to call out his Pro Bowl quarterback. What good would that do? Far be it for him to call out his cornerbacks in public? Shame is not as great a motivator as it is cracked up to be - by some. That the way you handle your kids when they come home with a D on their report card? Embarrass them?
Or do you encourage them to work harder? Do you help them?
Look, if this team didn't care, if this team wasn't prepared - if this team did not play with intensity - no way suddenly with the score 17-16 and the Bengals driving do they just decide to get intense enough to cause a turnover.
No way do they strike for a 57-yard touchdown to take an eight-point lead or break up that
