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Ex-Aggies assistant knew Cowboys job was no joke
By GIL LEBRETON - McClatchy Newspapers
SAN ANTONIO -- Did you hear the one about the Aggie defensive coordinator who left after only four weeks to become a coach with the Dallas Cowboys?
That's not a joke.
Reggie Herring made a career decision. Aggie tradition for the Cowboys' global brand.
At A&M, Herring knew, Mike Sherman was trying to build a program.
But with the Cowboys, Herring knew he would be following in famous footsteps. The franchise's annual goal remains the Super Bowl. Surely, even the staunchest of Aggies can understand that.
"The No. 1 reason I even thought about leaving A&M was that I felt like this organization, the Dallas Cowboys, represented the chance of a lifetime," said Herring, who joined Wade Phillips' staff in February 2008, just after the college recruiting season had ended.
"To say and be a part of the Dallas Cowboys organization," Herring said, "knowing they had a potential to win it all, and that the expectations here are at the highest level, it's an opportunity that doesn't come along but once in a lifetime."
Three seasons later, Herring is coaching DeMarcus Ware, Bradie James, Anthony Spencer and Keith Brooking, and the preseason football magazines are again writing the names Cowboys and Super Bowl in the same sentence.
Not all that long ago, the franchise's starting linebackers were Darren Hambrick, Dat Nguyen and Dexter Coakley. Pencil in Kevin Hardy, Al Singleton and Akin Ayodele in succeeding seasons, and you get an idea how far the position has come on the team's growth chart.
Herring feels blessed.
"I don't think there's any doubt that right now - in my opinion and, hopefully, they'll be ready to prove it soon - we will be putting the best group of four linebackers in the NFL on the field at one time," Herring said.
"I take a lot of pride in saying that. I believe in these guys. I think they believe in themselves and in each other. This is a special group. They know how to work. They help each other. And they're very close."
He spoke those words with typical Herring passion. It's the same Reggie Herring, in a lot of ways, that I remember from Pat Sullivan's first TCU coaching staff.
Those were tough, transitioning days for the Horned Frogs - the 2-8-1 season in 1992 included a drubbing by Baylor, a tie with Western Michigan and a loss at home to Rice. It also included, improbably, TCU's only victory 8over Texas of the past 42 years.
If memory serves, nobody coached harder - or louder - on that TCU staff than Reggie Herring.
His resume is a lengthy one, but it certainly started with the right stop. From a stellar career as a linebacker at Florida State, Herring's first coaching job was at Oklahoma State, where he worked as a graduate assistant on the staff of Jimmy Johnson.
Since then, he's coached at Auburn, TCU, Clemson, the NFL Houston Texans, North Carolina State, Arkansas and, for one month, Texas A&M.
He has fond memories of the Fort Worth-Dallas area, Herring said, from his days at TCU.
"But really, when it comes down to it, the reason I came back here, flat out, was to work for the Dallas Cowboys," Herring said.
He calls the group of coaches that Phillips has put together "a great staff, a very experienced staff. Guys who have been head coaches and coordinators. Everybody's got a lot of knowledge."
"I spent most of my career in college," Herring added, "but the NFL is the greatest sabbatical any teacher could ever take and learn from."
It hasn't hurt, of course, that the Cowboys have assembled one of the league's best linebacking corps, beginning with All-Pro Ware.
But Herring pulls his weight as well.
Brooking, a 13-year veteran, has high praise for his position coach.
"He's an intense coach," Brooking said. "He's played the position, and he knows what it takes to be successful.
"He's extremely intelligent as far X's and O's go. But he also has the ability to kind of look beyond that at times. You can draw up a play all you want, but when the ball is snapped, it changes. He has the ability to coach beyond that, because he's played the game and he knows what it takes."
Not all that long ago, the linebacker position was an afterthought on what seemed to be a forever rebuilding Cowboys defense.
Now, coach Reggie Herring says, you can't name a better four.
And not a bad career move, as it turns out.
By GIL LEBRETON - McClatchy Newspapers
SAN ANTONIO -- Did you hear the one about the Aggie defensive coordinator who left after only four weeks to become a coach with the Dallas Cowboys?
That's not a joke.
Reggie Herring made a career decision. Aggie tradition for the Cowboys' global brand.
At A&M, Herring knew, Mike Sherman was trying to build a program.
But with the Cowboys, Herring knew he would be following in famous footsteps. The franchise's annual goal remains the Super Bowl. Surely, even the staunchest of Aggies can understand that.
"The No. 1 reason I even thought about leaving A&M was that I felt like this organization, the Dallas Cowboys, represented the chance of a lifetime," said Herring, who joined Wade Phillips' staff in February 2008, just after the college recruiting season had ended.
"To say and be a part of the Dallas Cowboys organization," Herring said, "knowing they had a potential to win it all, and that the expectations here are at the highest level, it's an opportunity that doesn't come along but once in a lifetime."
Three seasons later, Herring is coaching DeMarcus Ware, Bradie James, Anthony Spencer and Keith Brooking, and the preseason football magazines are again writing the names Cowboys and Super Bowl in the same sentence.
Not all that long ago, the franchise's starting linebackers were Darren Hambrick, Dat Nguyen and Dexter Coakley. Pencil in Kevin Hardy, Al Singleton and Akin Ayodele in succeeding seasons, and you get an idea how far the position has come on the team's growth chart.
Herring feels blessed.
"I don't think there's any doubt that right now - in my opinion and, hopefully, they'll be ready to prove it soon - we will be putting the best group of four linebackers in the NFL on the field at one time," Herring said.
"I take a lot of pride in saying that. I believe in these guys. I think they believe in themselves and in each other. This is a special group. They know how to work. They help each other. And they're very close."
He spoke those words with typical Herring passion. It's the same Reggie Herring, in a lot of ways, that I remember from Pat Sullivan's first TCU coaching staff.
Those were tough, transitioning days for the Horned Frogs - the 2-8-1 season in 1992 included a drubbing by Baylor, a tie with Western Michigan and a loss at home to Rice. It also included, improbably, TCU's only victory 8over Texas of the past 42 years.
If memory serves, nobody coached harder - or louder - on that TCU staff than Reggie Herring.
His resume is a lengthy one, but it certainly started with the right stop. From a stellar career as a linebacker at Florida State, Herring's first coaching job was at Oklahoma State, where he worked as a graduate assistant on the staff of Jimmy Johnson.
Since then, he's coached at Auburn, TCU, Clemson, the NFL Houston Texans, North Carolina State, Arkansas and, for one month, Texas A&M.
He has fond memories of the Fort Worth-Dallas area, Herring said, from his days at TCU.
"But really, when it comes down to it, the reason I came back here, flat out, was to work for the Dallas Cowboys," Herring said.
He calls the group of coaches that Phillips has put together "a great staff, a very experienced staff. Guys who have been head coaches and coordinators. Everybody's got a lot of knowledge."
"I spent most of my career in college," Herring added, "but the NFL is the greatest sabbatical any teacher could ever take and learn from."
It hasn't hurt, of course, that the Cowboys have assembled one of the league's best linebacking corps, beginning with All-Pro Ware.
But Herring pulls his weight as well.
Brooking, a 13-year veteran, has high praise for his position coach.
"He's an intense coach," Brooking said. "He's played the position, and he knows what it takes to be successful.
"He's extremely intelligent as far X's and O's go. But he also has the ability to kind of look beyond that at times. You can draw up a play all you want, but when the ball is snapped, it changes. He has the ability to coach beyond that, because he's played the game and he knows what it takes."
Not all that long ago, the linebacker position was an afterthought on what seemed to be a forever rebuilding Cowboys defense.
Now, coach Reggie Herring says, you can't name a better four.
And not a bad career move, as it turns out.