Cowboys fire coach Wade Phillips

IRVING, Texas (AP) - Wade Phillips was fired Monday as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett promoted to take his place.

Team owner Jerry Jones decided enough was enough following a 45-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers the night before. It was the Cowboys’ fifth straight loss, dropping them to 1-7.

“We are grateful to Wade and his contribution to the Cowboys, leading us,” Jones said. “We also clearly understand we are not where we want to be at this time, and that’s an understatement. We share the responsibility - all of us.”

This is the Cowboys’ worst season since 1989 and among the worst in franchise history by record alone. Realistically, it’s the low point considering Dallas was coming off a division title and a playoff win, and was expected to contend for the Super Bowl that’ll be held at Cowboys Stadium.

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Cowboys fire coach Wade Phillips

I rarely write about sports, it’s not a blog topic that piques my interest very often, but this is a post I just had to address.

Wade Phillips is gone. Jason Garrett is in and is now the newest in a long string of head coaches under Jerry Jones.

That ‘long string of head coaches’ thing in itself poses a question; what happens if the losses continue and the Cowboys fail to get their act together? Will Jerry Jones fire Garrett? Will Jones address the lackadaisical play of his unproductive young millionaires?

Will Jerry Jones ever address and accept the REAL cause of the Dallas Cowboys problems and their obvious demise? That ‘cause‘ being the owner, Jerry Jones himself?

Jerry Jones has gone through some of the best coaches to come down the line, and a couple that were less than stellar. Jones has an ego the size of Cowboys Stadium. He clashes with everyone that has coached under his ownership.

Jones has assumed the title, and actively pursues the job of General Manager, when what he really needs to do is sit back and let a REAL General Manager run the operation while he, Jones, sits back and enjoys owning a team that has the talent, albeit not terribly apparent at this time, but DOES possess the talent to actually WIN a football game.

Phillips’ departure takes another dubious spot in club history: the first in-season coaching change.

A dubious honor indeed.

Since Jerry Jones took over the Cowboys, and fired Tom Landry, the Cowboys have now had, including Garrett, 7 different head coaches.

Jimmy Johnson, a great coach, rebuilt the Cowboys and took them to the Super Bowl, twice, and WON. Then the clash of egos occurred and Johnson was gone.

Enter Barry Switzer. Barry inherited a Super Bowl team, and won with them too. Switzer took the Cowboys to their last Super Bowl as participants. And yeah, Switzer came out a winner. Then the egos clashed again. See ya Barry.

Chan Gailey and Dave Campo were nothing but clowns. They were Yes men!

Then Bill Parcells came to Texas.

Many believe Parcells to be one of the greatest coaches of all time. He may be, but I never liked the guy, great record or not. He’s a damned Yankee and he just didn’t fit here in Texas. He was rude, he was brusque, he was annoying and his nasal tone sounded like he was about to cry on more than a few occasions. And again, a clash of egos ensued with Parcells and Jones. Buh-bye Billy.

Over all, Wade Phillips has had about as much success with the Cowboys as Parcells did.

Parcells had 64 wins and 34 losses. Phillips has had 56 wins and 34 losses and hasn’t finished this season. In all honesty, Phillips was falling apart and it showed, but suppose he DID win the final 8 games on the schedule?

Do the math. I know it’s a stretch to imagine, but IF the Cowboys had won their last 8 games under Phillips, he (Phillips) would have been tied for wins and losses with Parcells.

I wish Jason Garrett well, and I wish him all the luck in the world, he’s going to need all the luck he can get. If he wins, Jones won’t keep him, that EGO thing. If he loses, Jones won’t keep him, it’s a business and not a brotherhood.

Just about everything has gone wrong this half-season. The constant has been mindless mistakes: penalties, turnovers and other breakdowns befitting an expansion team, not one of the highest-paid rosters in the NFL. Phillips couldn’t get them to snap them out of it. He tried being loyal instead of benching the guys who were underperforming the most. That only seemed to make things worse.

As I said, it’s a business, and nice guys don’t always finish 1st!

Good luck Jason Garrett, and good luck Cowboys, I would love to see you return to your past greatness, but with Jerry Jones at the helm, I just don’t know if it’s possible.