Terrell Owens hit up Wade Phillips on the cellphone.
The family environment new Cowboys coach Wade Phillips wants to instill at Valley Ranch started Saturday with a call from wide receiver Terrell Owens.
"I told him it meant a lot to me," Phillips said. "It was a good talk."
Owens tracked down Phillips' cellphone number and called him.
"I think it's funny, but I'm good friends with Jim Farris [who played for Phillips in Atlanta in 2003] and he said, 'Dude, you will love Wade Phillips,' " Owens said from Miami. "He's a players' coach, and he's been there before. I guess from an offensive standpoint Wade is a kind of guy who wants to get his playmakers the ball."
I wonder if Owens ever called the Tuna? Or maybe he sent him a text message that said "#81 is open throw 2 me".
T.O. on Jason Garrett:
"He brings a lot to the table," Owens said of Garrett. "It's good to work with offensive-minded guys. For them, it's like playing a video game. You draw a play and want everybody to execute. It's going to be exciting."
Owens still has to have his second surgery on his troublesome finger.
Despite this, Owens said he doesn't expect to miss any off-season workouts. That's good news for Phillips, who is planning more off-season workouts than last year to implement new wrinkles to the 3-4 defense and different offensive plays or new offensive system.
T.O. on Tuna:
"People read into it that we didn't get along," Owens said. "Bill can be direct, and if our relationship was a problem, he would have said that. He was a coach, and I was a player, and we respected each other as such."