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Wade Phillips: There wasn't really a gag order on him
1:33 PM Wed, Mar 25, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Tim MacMahon E-mail News tips
Wade Phillips didn't answer questions at the Senior Bowl or scouting combine because it was "against the rules." Jerry Jones explained that he was the only coach of front-office person authorized to speak to the media to ensure the accuracy (read: proper spin) of the information.
Maybe those jokesters were just pulling our legs.
When asked about the gag order today, Wade cracked, "Really, I hadn't said anything?"
After I assume the courtesy laughter ended, Phillips was asked if Jerry really requested that the head coach hush. "No, not really," Phillips said, explaining that he didn't have a whole lot to say and wasn't interested in rehashing last season.
Phillips later mentioned that he didn't want to get into a bunch of "he-said, she-said" stuff. Did he enjoy not talking to the media?
"I won't say I enjoy, but I've talked to the media, all the media and been quite honest with them," said Phillips, who does consistently hang around in the hallway after his daily press conferences to answer additional questions from scribes. "I think they've taken it a little bit far in some situations.
"I've got to be more mindful now. That's part of it. If people are just going to go after you no matter what you say, then don't say anything in some cases."
The problem isn't that Phillips refused to answer reporters' questions for a few months. Bill Parcells never talked to the local media during the off-season. Bill Belichick rarely does. And those guys have won a lot of games.
But there's a big difference between blowing off the media because you want to and doing so because your boss tells you to zip it.
The former doesn't do any harm other than maybe ruffling some reporters' feathers, which is fair game. The latter reinforces the perception that the head coach is the owner/GM's puppet.
1:33 PM Wed, Mar 25, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Tim MacMahon E-mail News tips
Wade Phillips didn't answer questions at the Senior Bowl or scouting combine because it was "against the rules." Jerry Jones explained that he was the only coach of front-office person authorized to speak to the media to ensure the accuracy (read: proper spin) of the information.
Maybe those jokesters were just pulling our legs.
When asked about the gag order today, Wade cracked, "Really, I hadn't said anything?"
After I assume the courtesy laughter ended, Phillips was asked if Jerry really requested that the head coach hush. "No, not really," Phillips said, explaining that he didn't have a whole lot to say and wasn't interested in rehashing last season.
Phillips later mentioned that he didn't want to get into a bunch of "he-said, she-said" stuff. Did he enjoy not talking to the media?
"I won't say I enjoy, but I've talked to the media, all the media and been quite honest with them," said Phillips, who does consistently hang around in the hallway after his daily press conferences to answer additional questions from scribes. "I think they've taken it a little bit far in some situations.
"I've got to be more mindful now. That's part of it. If people are just going to go after you no matter what you say, then don't say anything in some cases."
The problem isn't that Phillips refused to answer reporters' questions for a few months. Bill Parcells never talked to the local media during the off-season. Bill Belichick rarely does. And those guys have won a lot of games.
But there's a big difference between blowing off the media because you want to and doing so because your boss tells you to zip it.
The former doesn't do any harm other than maybe ruffling some reporters' feathers, which is fair game. The latter reinforces the perception that the head coach is the owner/GM's puppet.
