Wade Phillips is probably a great guy. Why is it when people level criticisms, the response is often, “But he’s a really good guy.” As though that makes failure better. We can accept failure if the guy is a good guy. Now, if he were a jerk, it’d be an entirely different story. I’ve never understood why criticism of performance is misconstrued as criticism of character or integrity.
I’ve heard so many Wade press conferences I have a great feel for how the man handles things, especially adversity or criticism. He’s always positive. He’ll reflect on the good things, always. At least publicly.
Are we to think that privately he has a different habit? Maybe. Maybe not. I’m certain that NFL coaches - no matter what their public demeanor may be - criticize their players when they watch film and during other times.
I’ve seen professional men and women do the same thing. They just can’t stand the confrontations necessary for great coaching. Many people find it difficult to deliver tough criticism without extolling positive things. The results can be devastating because the person on the receiving end may fail to see the importance or urgency of the criticism. It’s like a parent who disciplines a child that misbehaves, but immediately discounts the discipline by hugging the child. I’m not saying hugging the child is wrong, but let the discipline sink in first. Chastising the child, then immediately hugging the child confuse the child at best. At worst, it negates the discipline.
Wade is always upbeat and focused on “here’s what we did that was good.” I’ve coached enough successful teams to know that good players tire of upbeat coaching when performances are poor - or below expectations. Good players want to see passion, fire and venom when they know better performance is possible. My guess is Wade Phillips doesn’t know how to walk on that tightrope. That’s why he’s not been successful at being a head coach. It’s why I predict his stint here won’t be any different. He’ll fail and lose his job here. I don’t want it to be that way - as a fan of the team and a resident of Dallas. It just seems apparent to me based on his defensiveness, his “we did this well” comments after every bad game and his refusal to just come out and say, “We played like crap and we have to change some things…and change them now!”
Failure and excuses have similar sounds. Listen to coach Wade and you’ll hear them. I wish he’d remove those rose-colored glasses and clear his vision. If a player blocked well in a losing effort, that player - if they’re competitive and if they care - is uninterested in getting praise. Tell us what we need to hear to get better. Language always reflects actions and behavior. Wade isn’t saying one thing and being something different. It’s possible, but it’s very, very rare.
As a parent, I’ve seen my own kids misbehave and feel badly afterwards. It helped to discipline them so they could put it behind them, knowing that I wouldn’t tolerate it and that I expected better of them the next time. Arming them up and telling them not to worry about it, but do better next time is ineffective. If it won’t work for children, I suspect it won’t work for professional athletes. Chastise them so they can move on, Wade. Rip them so they know you’re hacked off about how poorly they’re playing. Hammer them so they know you care! And so they know you expect MUCH more from them.
Else, you’ll get a team that doesn’t care about you, or listening to you. And a team that will expect nothing more of themselves because they don’t think you expect more of them.
