Wade Phillips and Dallas Cowboys Look to Next Season: Big Trouble in Big D

Times are a tough in Dallas these days.

Wade Phillips might as well walk around Valley Ranch with duct tape over his mouth.

Never has a head coach been so constrained in the media as Phillips has been this off-season. His team cannot respect him, his fellow coaches have to be scared they won’t be the next ones thrown off the bus, and his boss stings him along like a puppet.

Choosing not to address the team after the debacle in Philadelphia to eliminate the once Super Bowl hopefuls from even getting into the playoffs was the first mistake. Allowing the team to get on a plane and fly back home without even a word of encouragement or assurance that the off-season will bring change and a new attitude, Phillips lost any credibility he had not squandered.

Perhaps Phillips did not think he would make it to the off-season, perhaps he thought his pink slip was waiting in Dallas.

Or maybe this is what Wade Phillips is—a coward.

Too afraid to confront Terrell Owens, too afraid to take the reins and set the record straight. Too afraid to tell Tony Romo that he can throw to the open man instead of throwing to a double covered Terrell Owens. Too afraid to ask Jerry Jones who the real head coach of this team is.

Therein lies the problem; all Wade Phillips has become is a patsy. He was the patsy that Jerry Jones wanted. What Barry Switzer was to Jimmy Johnson, the big softy that told the world—“See, I don’t need Bill Parcells’s to win a Super Bowl.”

Well, guess what Jerry. It blew up in your face.

Now you have one of the most talented teams in league history, studs all over the place and they cannot win a game. December has become a purgatory for Tony Romo.

The team has no identity. No confidence.

No direction.

Lest we forget, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis’ excitement over playing the Dallas Cowboys last year. Lewis proclaimed that the offensive guru that is Jason Garret ran the simplest offense in the league and that he was excited to play them.

What happened next was the defensive drubbing the Cowboys endured at the hands of the Ravens. Garrett went from most sought after coach a year ago to the unpopular kid in the corner no one wants to talk to.

Time has come for somebody to step-up.

It should be you Tony Romo. Come back to Dallas early, rally the troops, set a standard of excellence that should be upheld even if the head coach is not worth his weight in dirt.

Don’t know how to do it you say, call up Troy Aikman, he’ll be willing to tell you. On defense, it seems releasing Roy Williams and firing defensive coordinator Brian Stewart has solved all the problems.

However, we are quick to forget that it was in fact Phillips who was calling the plays at the end of the season and some insiders are saying was calling the plays the entire season.

Well way to go Wade, you fired a man who followed you from San Diego because he believed you were his mentor. You threw him under the bus. Let Jerry scare you into it, instead of having the decency to stick up for your coach.

Then again you were just hired to be a puppet. I guess you’re just doing your job.

All you got for it was duct tape on the mouth and another year of being employed. Oh and by the way, have fun with the NFL's hardest schedule next year.

Boy, it will be fun when Jerry throws you in front of the bus.