As a part of operation get tough or get fired, Wade Phillips has undergone a noticeable change in how he approaches the media. The once soft spoken and generally media-amiable coach has been, at times at least, short with reporters, and this change was never more obvious than yesterday, when one reporter audaciously began his question with a hypothetical scenario concerning Roy Williams.
The reporter began, "If you lost Roy Williams for an extended period of ti--"
"We don't know anything about Roy so, you know, let's don't speculate," Wade fired back, not allowing the young reporter to finish his question.
This is an understandable sentiment on the part of Phillips, but it was also, possibly, the closest Phillips has ever been to a Parcells-like air of incredulity. Basically, the reporter got served--Phillips 2.0 style.
In Phillips' defense, there wasn't much he could've said otherwise, and he had already addressed the situation earlier in the interview, saying, "Oh, I don't know. I don't know anything about Roy. He banged his shoulder a little bit an they're checking on him. I imagine they're going to x-ray it and we'll see."
But, in any case, and to say nothing about what this says about as Wade as a person and a coach, this was about as feisty as we've seen the coach in his time in Dallas. This was no, "You play to win the game!," "They are who we thought they were!" or "Playoffs?!", but for the coach formerly known as "Cupcake," it was certainly a step in the right, and far more entertaining, direction.
I'm starting to like this new Wade.
