New head coaches mean new messages, and the same goes for Steve Wilks -- who likes the idea of tangible reminders. One appeared at training camp when the players showed up. Every player had a brick in his locker, painted with his name on one side and TAC on the other, a reference to Wilks' three-pronged "Trust, Accountability, Commitment" mantra that has found its way to the walls inside the team's Tempe facility and t-shirts the players wear.
The bricks were about the idea of building a foundation, Wilks said, "starting with myself."
His players have embraced the notion.
"The gist was when you are in your room every night, when you're done every day, you should be -- you better be -- happy with the brick you laid, the way it was laid, and the manner it was laid," tackle D.J. Humphries said. "It hit home to me. ... You have one day, today, and you better capitalize on it."
Wilks said it was something he has done in the past as an assistant coach. The brick-laying began April 3 when the team's offseason work officially started, and Wilks gave his team a speech about the bricks that incorporated W-I-N -- because it's about a foundation of winning.
"The most important brick in that foundation is training camp," Wilks said. "That's when you really come together."
"We want to build a strong, reliable foundation," cornerback Patrick Peterson said. "No tornado, no hurricane, no crazy stuff can break this team apart. That's what the brick symbolizes."
