A Dallas Cowboys Loss Against the Vikings Should Equal a Jon Gruden Hire

When it comes to coaching the 3-4 defense Wade Phillips is perhaps the best in the business.  He’s proven that.  He’s also finally proven that he can win a playoff game. But that’s not enough — especially when you’re coaching the most popular NFL team in America.  According to a recent Harris Poll, the ‘Boys are at the top of that list for the fourth straight year.

With all this popularity comes pressure.  So if the Cowboys go to 1-4 after this weekend, Jerry Jones should finally see that he has to make a change.  And even if he holds off until the end of the season, he’ll be spending the next few months going over the resumes of available coaches.

At the top of that list should be Jon Gruden — for one simple reason:  The Cowboys spotlight isn’t too big for the former Super Bowl winner.  And Gruden is an offensive-minded coach with a knack for developing a good rapport with his quarterbacks — something Tony Romo is in need of.

Gruden is also a big personality, very much in the mold of Jimmy Johnson.  He oozes confidence.  And it’s not hard to imagine “Chucky” yelling, “How Bout Them Cowboys!?” 

Jerry’s team has gone from a coach that leads with an iron fist in Parcells, to a coach that refuses to say a bad word about any of his players in Phillips.  All the while, Jerry has managed to accumulate the most talented team in the league.

Gruden is somewhere in between Parcells and Phillips.  He has the intensity of Parcells but knows when to crack a smile and tell a good joke.  And like Phillips, Gruden's players think of him as a player’s coach, but they also know that he’ll crack the whip at the drop of a dime.

Many will say that Bill Cowher might be a better fit.  But his personality-type won’t jive well with Jerry. Having come from the Steelers, an organization that is the antithesis of the Cowboys — one that is all about grit and guts, not glitz and glamour, Cowher would be out of place. 

And Gruden has gotten used to the limelight while doing Monday Night Football. He seems to revel in the spotlight.  Unlike Phillips, he’s quite at home in front of the camera.  And in Big D, that comes with the territory.

The owner of the Cowboys is a big personality.  And the only coach who could rival Jerry’s charisma was Jimmy Johnson.  But Jon Gruden can change all of that.  His snarl and smirk is just what the Cowboys need. 

It’s time to pull the trigger, Jerry.