Jerry Jones Says Wade Phillips' Job Isn't in Danger, Takes Shot at Jimmy Johnson

Wade Phillips, and by extension the Dallas Cowboys, have seriously underperformed this season. Part of that performance can be blamed on Phillips, but certainly Tony Romo's injury and the exposure of Jason Garrett as overrated may have something to do with it as well.

But despite the possibility that the 'Boys could miss the playoffs this year after being favored to rep the NFC in the Super Bowl, Jerry Jones says Phillips' job is safe.

"I don't have any inclination as I stand here, after this ballgame, about any coaching changes. ... And I don't see (coaching) as an issue," he added. "And it's not that fragile. It's just not that fragile."

[...]"You don't think for one minute Bill Parcells Jr. is going to come in here and do any better, do you? He didn't," Owner Jones said. "I don't think (a coaching change) is a cure all. ... Do we want to go to college and get one?"

The response of reporters -- who seem to be pretty feisty this time of year -- at the press conference was to inquire about Jimmy Johnson's success in Dallas. Jones was not, um, really complimentary of Jimmy's overall career.

"But what a price to pay. We were 1-15," he said. "By the way, he went down to Miami and got run on."

Well, that's surprisingly honest, kind of stupidly brutal and entirely unnecessary. Jones must, at this point, realize that some of the embarrassment of this week's loss to the Ravens falls on his shoulders, but even that obvious fact seems a bit too easy to grasp for someone as, uh, humble as Jerry.

On the other hand, what good does dumping Wade do? He's locked in Garrett as the would-be successor, and almost no new coach at this stage could possibly want to come in and not have control over the offensive coordinator. Add in the fact that Garrett's star has lost a little bit of shine recently and it kind of seems like Jones is painted in a corner here -- ride out Wade for a little longer or deal with an embarrassing coaching search that could just end up with Garrett grabbing the reigns anyway.

And certainly the last thing the Cowboys need -- heading into the final week of the season -- is any more unrest. Don't forget, too, that it's entirely possible that Jones changes his mind in the time it takes me to hit "publish."

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-24-2008 @ 1:30AM

James Smith said...

So what if the Ravens beat Dallas, Dallas still has a chance to get into the play off"s and as far Dallas going to the Super Bowl, not a chance unless they beef up their receiving corp. Men that can catch passes deep and find routes like Jay Novachek used to. Twenty yard routes that became a symbol of his ability to give the Cowboys an incentive over other teams.Every time Dallas owns their own destiny they lose. Other teams come to Dallas and beat them..why?

12-24-2008 @ 2:43AM

bokeen said...

"the exposure of Jason Garrett as overrated"

"and almost no new coach at this stage could possibly want to come in and not have control over the offensive coordinator"

Thank you. I love poorly-written sentences. Reading this gave me a headaches.

12-24-2008 @ 10:48AM

Brinson said...

I think those are "poorly written phrases".

12-24-2008 @ 3:06AM

GreatR said...

Is this the same Coach that benched Doug Flutie who had been QB for Buffalo all season and had them in the playoffs? Sure it is the same MORON...but unfortunately just getting rid of an incompetent "yes man" won't help the Boys. What is the common element of all the losing teams over the last 10 years? Jerry (grape skin face) Jones. Jerry is an "Al Davis" in the making. Like the Raiders they are stuck with him until he kicks the bucket or winds up like Michael Jackson from too many face lifts......couldn't happen to a nicer team....go Redskins.

12-24-2008 @ 3:26AM

Jerry Jones' contention that Parscells couldn't turn the Boys around is interesting. It seems to me that if Jerry Jones wasn't making the personnel decisions the Boys would already be turned around. Case in point...this year's Miami team. Of course, in Miami's case the owner lets Bill make all football decisions. Jerry has to have Wade or some other moron that will take orders and not think or involve
themselves in personnel. No matter what Jerry says about wanting to win, he does not want to win enough to admit he's a poor general manager and coach.

12-24-2008 @ 5:51AM

Rufus said...

Jerry Jones is a dufus. He has made only one good personnel decision since acquiring the Cowboys: hiring Jimmy Johnson. And even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. "America's Team" - what a joke - has become the new Oakland Raiders.

12-24-2008 @ 8:11AM

randy said...

As GreatR says, there's one common element in Dallas's demise for the last few years and that's Jerry Jones is the GM. His claim to fame is he fired a coach who won the Super Bowl the year before! HUH???!!! I wish he'd step down and hire a real football guy to run the Cowboys! Hey Jerry, I heard Matt Millen is available, now there's a match made in heaven!

12-24-2008 @ 9:15AM

dwp225 said...

Mr Jones I am a big Cowboy fan and I do believe we are going to win it all this year. I got some plays that I promise will work for the offense and make everybody look good and T.O. and Roy Williams 3 touchdowns each per game lets talk. These plays can and will make a differance and change the game of Football. Looking forward to speaking with you. Let start out with and e-mail.

12-24-2008 @ 9:50AM

Fred Smorgasbord said...

Is dwp225 for real? Does his mommy know he's playing with her computer? This guy may be some kind of skin extension off Jerry Jones ass. AOL must have a moron link to Fanhouse. I feel like Albert Einstein when I leave Fanhouse. Thanx AOL.

12-25-2008 @ 10:37AM

Mike P. said...

Wade P. is a proven looser whose track record surpasses many of the other coaches who can not get their teams beyond a .500 record. Marty S., Sam W., his father Bum, Denny G., etc.

If the Cowbois have any class they should go ahead and loose this weekend and get it over so as not to put their fans through yet another Play-Off loss via a Super Stars blunder once again.

12-26-2008 @ 4:13PM

robert said...

Except for Tom Laundry, Jimmy Johnson is the only coach to excel with the Cowboys. Super Bowl wins are the only things that count to Cowboy fans. They will not get there with Wade Phillips as coach. Parcells had discipline, but he couldn't communicate with his players. Wade can communicate, but his team has no discipline - ie, the most penalized team in the league. At the end of the season, the Cowboys should look for the closest thing to Jimmy, and that would be Bill Cowher.