Wow, this thread is like manna from heaven for me... Right, dc?
I like a lot of things about Wade.
For one, as someone that loves defense, I love his scheme. And I love that he and his dad are the ones who came up it. Let's face it, as in everything else, there isn't much new under the sun in football, and the fact that Wade and his dad invented this unique system and had the guts to implement it in an incredibly competitive league is pretty amazing. And that it's still successful after 30 years in a league that is always making adjustments is phenomenal. I'm embarrassed that I consider myself a pretty serious fan of defensive football and I didn't realize how different his 34 was from the others, or how he and his dad introduced it, until he got here. It's like having a piece of NFL history coaching your team. That's pretty cool.
I also like his eye for defensive talent. Dan Reeves said Wade was an outstanding personnel man, and that seems to be the case, especially in the front seven. That's why I get excited about players Wade really seems to see potential in, like Brandon Williams.
I like that Wade truly seems to enjoy his job. One thing that irked me about Parcells was how he was supposed to be such an uber-tough guy, but he always made sure to let us know how hard he had it and what a tough time he had coping with the psychological pressures of the job... As if he didn't know what the job entailed coming in, or weren't making millions of dollars a year to do it. On the other hand, Wade says, yes, we'll be up here all night watching film, but we wouldn't be in this business if we didn't enjoy it.
I like that Wade keeps his country-isms. I like how he says things like "We ended out winning" instead of "We ended up winning." These regional differences in public people seem to be disappearing as coaches becomes more and more polished. But in doing so, they become more and more homogeneous. Wade's like an
anachronism in that he's kept his regionalism, and I think that's kind of neat.
I like that Wade has an underrated ability to work with people, both players and management. In the situation here, I think he's perfect to work with Jerry because he doesn't balk at Jerry being out front like some coaches would. But I think behind the scenes he knows when to push for something that's really important to him. Not everyone can work with Jerry, and I think Wade is one of the few that can without being a total puppet a la Campo.
Wade isn't perfect, and he's not the greatest coach who ever walked an NFL sideline. But he's a pretty good coach. IMO most people who don't like him judge him by the fact that he's overweight, has the country accent, and isn't a good public speaker. It seems to me like a disproportionate number of his detractors are from the northeast, where maybe they think that someone who speaks like him has to be a dumb rube. But like kmd said, I think Wade is a lot smarter than he lets on.
Personally, I'm going to enjoy Wade's time here because I suspect Jerry's next hire is going to be an offensive-minded coach for the first time since Gailey, and our D will take a step back. I won't be at all shocked at the "Maybe Wade wasn't so bad" posts I'm going to see when he's gone.
