OK, seriously, how many times does a man have to fail at a job before you stop giving him chances? What is the limit of the Peter Principle?
Let's get one thing straight: Wade Phillips is an excellent defensive coordinator. The Chargers defense has been great the last couple years. He ran good defenses in Denver, in Buffalo, in Atlanta. But not every coordinator makes a good head coach. The jobs are different. Wade Phillips has failed as a head coach twice now, so why would we think the third time will be different? (I'm not counting the two interim positions.)
In Denver, Phillips squandered two of John Elway's best seasons with records of 7-9 and 9-7. But that was nothing compared to Buffalo. Yes, in Buffalo he had seasons of 10-6 and 11-5. Yes, the Bills only lost in the 1999 playoffs because of a fluke play (The Music City Miracle). But Phillips proved he shouldn't be a head coach with one decision: the decision to play Rob Johnson over Doug Flutie.
I'm not talking about the playoff game in 1999, I'm talking about 2000. The Bills went 8-8 in 2000 for two reasons: they had horrible special teams, and they inexplicably had a Pro Bowl quarterback on the bench for half the season while they played a guy who was a second-stringer at best. After the difference in numbers in 1998, you wonder how anybody could have made that mistake in 2000.
1998
Flutie: 8-3 as a starter, 7.2 net yards per pass, 8th in DVOA, adjusted sack rate of 3.0%.
Johnson: 2-3 as a starter, 5.3 net yards per pass, 18th in DVOA, adjusted sack rate of 21.6% (no, that is not a typo, he really was sacked once every five pass plays).
2000
Flutie: 4-2 as a starter, 6.7 net yards per pass, 8th in DVOA, adjusted sack rate of 4.1%.
Johnson: 4-6 as a starter, 5.2 net yards per pass, 15th in DVOA, adjusted sack rate of 13.6%.
Are you kidding me here? You didn't need advanced stats to figure out which one of these guys was going to win you some ballgames. This was the worst coaching decision of the last decade, bar none.
Other than Bill Belichick, how many head coaches in NFL history have failed in one job and then succeeded when given a second chance? Don't say Tony Dungy, he wasn't a failure in Tampa Bay -- he just didn't win a title there. I guess Forrest Gregg led the Bengals to a Super Bowl after he was lousy in Cleveland. But I can't think of any head coach who was a failure in two different jobs and then a success in the third.
The strangest part of this whole exercise is that Jerry Jones apparently had this coaching search narrowed down to Phillips or Norv Turner. And Norv Turner is the offensive coordinator version of Phillips -- great coordinator, terrible head coach.
This is better than Ron Rivera? Better than Mike Singletary? Norm Chow, Jim Schwartz, Rob Ryan and Rex Ryan? Honestly, the Cowboys would be better off just giving Jason Garrett the head job. No track record as a head coach is better than a bad track record as a head coach.
So much for the NFC East being a battle of great coaches. Parcells is gone, nobody knows what to think of Gibbs after last year's disaster, and the Giants players seem to have completely tuned out Coughlin. Andy Reid was there before the other three and he'll be there after the other three. He may be the most underrated head coach in the game.
Singletary is the guy I was backing, but I'm willing to bite the Phillips as HC bullet in order to get him here to improve the defense. The offense is going to be decided by Jerry Jones, Tony Sparano, and Jason Garrett, so that should keep Phillips away from blundering the QB situation.
The quotes I've read and sound bytes I've heard from Ron Rivera failed to impress me at all. I don't think he'll be a good HC. I would have been cranky if he had been named HC.
As for the Ryans. Their father put a feakin' bounty on Troy Aikman and Luis Zendejas. I can't see bringing them in to Dallas, as much as I love the way they coach defense.
Norm Chow, like Norv Turner in the end, didn't really bring enough to the table, since Sparano and Garrett are already here to coach the already potent offense.
P.S. I'm a life-long New England resident and Doug Flutie fan, so I had a lot of disgust for Wade Phillips. But I think this is a situation in which he can succeed.
I'll put money down that Phillips turns the Cowboys defense (the only thing that kept them from the Super Bowl in the end) into a very CONSISTENT and formidable unit. He's the guy I was hoping for from the beginning.
I am a cowboy fan and I almost puked at phillips. Good Lord. I'd rather Tony Dorsett coach that Cowboys than Wade Phillips or Norv Turner. That Star just don't look like it used to.
Dusty: It's funny...both of the people you mentioned were the best fit for the Cowboys right now. Sure they haven't done well as head coaches in the past. But what are the Cowboys 2 biggest needs in a coach? 1) A guy who can mold Tony Romo into the next great Cowboys QB and 2) A defensive mind that knows how to run the 3-4. Troy Aikman has said over and over again that he never would have amounted to anything in the NFL if he didn't have Norv Turner molding him and just look at the Chargers success on defense with the 3-4 this past year. We're not looking for a long term solution at HC right now. We're looking for a guy who can finish molding this young team that Parcells assembled. Either Phillips or Turner would have done the job. I'm happy it's Phillips because I was worried they were going to hire a 4-3 guy. We saw how it works with a 4-3 coordinator running things in Mike Zimmer. It doesn't.
I believe that San Diego offered Martyball an extention to his contract and he turned them down and the chargers will keep him on one more year, the same with the cowboys, they have hired someone they feel will do an adequate job for one year, and then at the end of next season both teams will be looking to sign Bill Cowher, who's taking this next year off.
Bishop: No...I'll promise that's not the case here. Not for Cowher at least. It's one thing to hire Bill Parcells...that was a stretch to Cowboys fans. Hiring Cowher would be over the line though, lol. Seriously, though...Phillips is keeping the seat warm for Garrett not Cowher. Phillips will be there 3 or 4 years and then Garrett should get the job, assuming he hasn't taken a job elsewhere yet.
Right on target with this article. Wade Will FAIL in Dallas just like he did in Buffalo and Denver. Jerry is in charge and needed to pull the strings. I was personally pulling for Jason Garrett or Norv to get the position.
I'm really surprised how many people are overlooking the bottomline in this hire...including Schatz with this article. Obviously no one will take my word for it now...but I'm sure Wade will prove these critics wrong in due time.
I couldn't agree more. Being a Bills fan, Phillips decisions cost us numerous regular season and playoff wins. I'm glad the Cowboys hired him. This will set the Cowboys back a few more years.
People... Do you really think Wade will be running this team as independently as a HC should? NO! He will work with the 3-4 Defense and Jones will make sure he doesn't screw the offense up by granting unmentioned powers to Garrett and Sparano. Sparano knows that offense as well as ANYBODY and Garrett worked with Aikman for years so he will take care of Romo. Look for the Boys to make the playoffs again next year on a revived offense (Romo-TO-TG-Witten-Jones-Barber) and a few key moves on defense (Move Roy Williams to weak side backer, move Anthony Henry to Safety, sign a corner in free agency, and for the love of all mighty address the defensive end position). When Ellis went down, so did the pass rush.....
I thought Norv Turner was a bad candidate. I thought Mike Singletary wasn't ready to become an head coach. I've figured it'll come down to Rivera and Phillips. However, the Niners should have promoted Mike to Defensive Coordinator instead of outsourcing. I think Phillips will do a good job as long as he has talent on the team, which the Cowboys do and the defense shouldn't have a problem adapting a new defense system since it's 3-4.
HAHAHAHAHA! It happened to the Raider Nation, and now its happening to Dallas! An overbearing, senile owner who forgets to delegate! At least Al Davis helped form this league (and HE didn't fire Tom Landry).
Oh, and you can't be a good coordinator while you're the head coach. Sorry.
DMitch87,
Take it from a Charger fan who has followed the Bolts defense for years, Wade Phillips is too mild-mannered to be able to control T.O. Therefore, T.O. is going to become an even bigger distraction in "big d". One coach is not going to fix the 'boys, plus they have personelle problems on both offense and defense, so they will continue to suck.
Unfortunately, Phillips will be fired after a year and they will put in the guy Jerry Jones really wants, Garrett.
And that is a whole other story...
Aaron Shatz stick to writing because you have no clue on hiring a coach. Wade Philips has the experience and proven he can win. Norv had 2 attempts to be a head coach and bombed at it. I know Wade will do a great job. Oh yeah, Aaron, put a new battery in the magic 8 Ball before you make another prediction. GO COWBOYS!
Last edited by ojay1368 on February 8th at 7:26 PM.
I think that by hiring Wade Phillips, what Jerry Jones is essentially saying is "I'm just waiting to give this team to Jason Garrett". This will get ugly. Don't think for a minute that once T.O. figures out that Phillips is nothing more than a placeholder, he won't be running roughshod all over him. You think T.O. in Philly got bad, wait till you see what happens in Dallas this year.
w.p. what a laugh! jones's new lap dog can even stand on his own hind legs. wow!
we're in big trouble. even steinbrenner would be a better owner. at least he picked joe t.
now we are assured of having t.o. drop balls all over the field cause that's what jonezie wants.
Bolts: I can assure you without a shadow of a doubt that Phillips won't be fired after a year haha. That's about as good of a prediction as the people who said the Cardinals were this year's darkhorse. Also, after just watching Phillips' speech, I guarentee that out of all of TO's past coaches, Phillips will have the most success. He is a team first, family-oriented coach who still takes no nonsense from his players. If a player doesn't fit into the "family" as he calls it, he won't be on the team long. Phillips will win this battle, I promise. Think about the two coaches who coached in this year's Super Bowl. They are the two most mild-mannered coaches in the league. Yelling and screaming doesn't always work. I'm ready for a new philosophy. If it mattered how a coaches manner was with T.O., it would have worked out with T.O. and Parcells this year. Clearly he's a player that transcends a coach's manner.
One final thought...he's a Texan. Only other Texans out there understand why this is such a big thing. He coached high school and higher in Texas. I'll always feel more comfortable with a Texan at the helm than someone else. And don't try to say how stupid that is...because I already know it sounds stupid. But others out there from Texas understand.
Last edited by DMitch87 on February 8th at 8:38 PM.
Year One:
Dallas makes the playoffs, loses round one to Chicago.
Year Two:
Dallas doesn't make the playoffs, Phillips quits.
Year Three:
Mike Singletary lands Washington Redskins head coaching job, wins the next two Super Bowls. Dallas misses playoffs, 10 loss season.
Year Four:
Jerry tries to get Jimmy Johnson back; Jerry moves out of Highland Park citing security issues. Jason Garrett takes the helm. Dallas misses the playoffs.
Year Five:
Dallas makes the playoffs, one and done.
Year Six:
Jerry sells team to Japanese consortium and moves back to freakin' Arkansas.
DMitch87: You said: "I'll put money down that Phillips turns the Cowboys defense (the only thing that kept them from the Super Bowl in the end) into a very CONSISTENT and formidable unit. He's the guy I was hoping for from the beginning."
Now, I hates to disagree with ya, especially since you seem to be the most sensible of the lot here, however, I'd like to point out a thing or three.
It was not the Dallas defense that cost them the game in Seattle, but the offense. Hard to tell for certain which affected the outcome more, the bad breaks or bad play calling, but certainly, both were factors.
Under the bad break category, we saw Jason Witten fumble a ball. That was what, the first fumble for him in 2ish years. Rather a fluck..an extremely fortuitous hit on the ball by the d.b.
Then there was the combo bad break and bad play call at the two yard line, when Terry Glenn slipped and the d.b. once again fortunately stuck his hand in the right spot. To me, it was a dumb call considering the location on the field. Had that play happened exactly as it did, say five yards further in and anywhere after that, it'd just have been a four yard loss, with yet an opportunity to convert. There was a third play, but cannot think of it at present.
In any case, those could also simply be seen as excuses, so let'#### the real issue. The PLAY CALLING... ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? For one, they did absolutely nothing to enhance or showcase Tony Romo's agility skills. Terry Glenn was 100% correct a couple weeks earlier when he said they weren't playing to win. They did NOT
HEY EVERYBODY, WAKE UP!! THE PICK WAS FOR SOMEONE WHO IS WILLING TO BE INTERIM TEACHER/MENTOR FOR GARRETT TO TAKE OVER IN THE NEAR FUTURE!IT IS PAINFULLY OBVIOUS HE NEEDED TO PICK THE GUY WITH THE LEAST CAREER AMBITION AND BEST PRICE....VIOLA, WADE PHILLIPS, WHO NO ONE IS HOPING TO TAKE OVER THEIR HEAD COACHING SLOT AND HAS FAILED 2 TIMES ALREADY....PERFECT PUPPET FOR JONES AND HE WILL BE OUT IN 2-3 YEARS WITH GARRETT TAKING OVER. GO CHIEFS!!!!!
Dmitch: I've lived in Texas for 13 years, and I hate this hire, no matter where Son-Of-Bum is from. Bottom line: Philips is a proven loser as a head coach and a bad decision maker. I agree, it's nice having a Texan coach the team, but as soon as he takes this playoff team and makes them a 7-9 team, Cowboys fans will be calling for his head, Texan or not. The defense will be fine (as long as they move Roy W. to LB and address the safety position in draft or free agency), but the offense will suffer. And why is everybody so fired up about Jason Garrett? Why are we assuming Jones is grooming him for the head coaching spot? I've seen nothing to make me believe that's the case. I also agree with the notion that T.O. will be totally unmanageable this year (he was scared of Parcells last year), and I think they should trade him before the draft (which they won't) -- you don't pay a guy that much money to lead the league in dropped passes, especially with the personality issues he has. They would be much better off without him.
The Philips hire is yet another example of what happens when you have an egomaniac billionaire #### as your owner/GM. Why hire a guy who is a proven failure as a head coach, when an intelligent, respected Hall Of Famer like Mike Singletary is out there just waiting for the opportunity? Here's why -- because Singletary has too much balls to let an #### like Jerry Jones lead him around by the collar. I give Philips two years & 1 playoff appearance at the most. I think Deli' 6-year outlook is going to be pretty accurate.
Last edited by RogerCWallace on February 8th at 10:28 PM.
I see the Phillips as just a stop gap measure as Jason Garrett is being moulded for the position. Ultimately he'll be handed the reins once Jerry Jones feels that he's ready. It appears that far better suitable candidates were overlooked for the position for the mere reason that they probably wouldn't have agreed to what Jones had in mind anyway.
Somehow Phillips thought it best to give up his coordinator's position with the Chargers for a coaching position in Dallas.
Where he'll have to dael with the likes of not only Jones but TO as well doesn't seem to make any sense whatsover !
I've said as much in the post that I've written entitled 'How High Is Too High ?'. You're all quite welcomed to read it and leave any comments that you deem pertinent to to the subject matter. Look forward to reading your comments as they're appreciated.
Chimin' out !
I was raised around San Antonio, Texas until 1978., but I am still a Cowboy fan. If this is the kind of support you are giving the Cowboys' then maybe you need to become a fan of some other team. The players are the ones that are out there on the field trying to win games for themselves as well as for the fans. They need our support not our putdown. Not matter who is the head coach, we need to stand behind him instead of stomp on him. JFM
Dallas did struggle on offense mostly due to the inability of their top receivers to pull in the pass. Play calling was also an issue. As much as I wanted to hate Tony Romo(Jessica Simpson) which I'm glad I still have a chance with her!!! He is a good quarterback with the ability to polish his skills in the off season. So my pick was Singletary for the head coach position. Only one of the greatest linebackers to play the game. He was a leader on that defense every play. He also would've handled the T.O. situation. Which he needs to be traded after his horrible season. I've never been a Cowboys fan, but they definitely have a chance next season. If my Colts don't pick up a few defensive picks this off season. But it will be great to see the outcome of this question. Good Post.
Last edited by justiceserv on February 9th at 7:18 AM.
I am a loyal Cowboys fan and I am very disappionted with the hiring of Wade Phillips. I can tell you that if he doesnt make the playoffs his first year he will no doubt be on thin ice his second year. The Cowboys are a playoff contender team. With last years loss I know that Jerry Jones want to win and he wants to win now. And if Phillips cant at least get them farther than the first round of the playoffs we can say good bye to Mr. Phillips. Let me just say that I would have loved for Jerry Jones to try evrything in his power to steal Jeff Fisher away from the Titans. I didnt want to see Norv Turner on the sideline. He would have had the same outcome as he did in Oakland. We all know how his relationship with Randy Moss ended up.I swear if Phillips benches Romo for some no name QB like he did to Flutie I am going to puke.
I actually like Wade as I believe it was Ralph Wilson who forced Wades hand in Buffalo to bench Flutie because he needed to justify the money he was paying for Johnson. I know everyone will say its the coaches ultimate decision and maybe thats true but something about that situation really led me to believe it was not his choice! Also look deeper into those stats, at least 4 of Johnsons wins Flutie came off the bench to win (I believe Johnson only played 3 plays in one of them). Don't get me started on this one! I do think Wade is a great person and coach and will do well for Dallas. I still blame Buffalo's management for the forementioned QB decision!
Last edited by PatsFan2236 on February 9th at 9:02 AM.
This is Actually a Better fit than Parcells was. The type pf 3-4 Wade uses is an excellent fit to the players the Cowboys have and as far as offense, he wasn't brought in to run the offense. Sporano, who ran last years offense to 3rd in points in the league, along with Jason Garrett tutoring Romo will be in charge of that. Todd Knowlse, whos developed the Cowboys secondary into one of the better units, will prob move to Defensive coordinator... And All of these Guys are types of Coaches that are highly Respected By the players and get along great with the players, which is a must in Dallas. Norv Turner is Power happy like Parcells, which we dont need that unless we're selling Corporate boxes. Phillips turned the Chargers defense into the Top Sacking team last year with a lot less talent than the Cowboys have. And as for Rivera, he didn't want the Defensive coord job because he thought it would make him "look bad" to take more money to change postions from Chicago to Dallas. People who keep posting about coaches previous Head coaching record.. That doenst mean Squat in the NFL today. Remember Parcells has a great winning record but couldnt get the Cowboys over the Hump, because he was out of touch with the game and has no creativity on Defense.. Phillips brings that and if Sporano and Garrett can match last year on Offense, the Cowboys are contenders. You don't have to like the guy or go out to lunch with him. The bottom line is, "who's the best guy to take the players you have now and get them to the next level? And Phillips was the best available.
Its funny how so many of the talking heads always refer back to the "no one in NFL history has ever done..." argument to support their opinion. Come on people! You all know how the NFL is now. Honestly, if a coach has some decent coaching ability, all they need is the right personnel. The 'boys have it. Thus, Jerry hired a coach who excells at the one area where they had weakness last season - defense. To look at Phillips' history in Buffalo, Denver et. al., as ANY indicator is just asinine. Different owners, different teams, different circumstances, different league. Give the "history shows" thing a rest.
Being a Cowboy fan we need to stand behind the decision of Jerry Jones in the hiring of Wade. I do belive that Jason will be the next coach in about 3 to 4 years so I think that Wade is a good choice for the team we have right now in Dallas to win.
jfmorgan .... I don't pretend to be a Cowboys' fan. But if you truly believe that Phillips was awarded the position solely based on the fact that he'll turn things around for the franchise. Then I think you may well be missing the point. It's seems clear that he's been brought in to groom Jason Garrett ultimately to take over from Phillips at some time in the future.
If Phillips should prove to be a failure immediately then expect him not to last beyond a season. I've said as much in a post written and entitled 'How High Is Too High ?' If you're interested please take a look and let me know what you think ? I look forward to reading your comments.
Regards..........
Sounds like a lot of you guys think the coach will make the plays instead of the players. Stop listening to the talking heads whose job is to make up a story, show their favorites and make you doubt your team. You're either a COWBOY or not. If you're not, shup and choose another team.
CowboyQ22 ...... Check out my post 'How High Is High Enough' ? Let me know what you think with regard to my assumption concerning Wade being made the coach of the Cowboys.
He may well seem qualified to some but by no means was he the best candidate out there.
Jones just wanted someone to fill the seat until he feels that Jason Garett is ready to assume the role of coach. One thing for sure if Phillips shoud prove to be a failure from the outset then he won't last more than a year. Even the most ardent of Cowboys' fans know it !
tophatal..........
Last edited by tophatal on February 11th at 1:44 PM.
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