Wade Phillips Fired? Has Jerry Jones Run Dallas Cowboys Into Ground?
UPDATE 3:05 p.m. EST: Multiple Media Outlets are reporting Wade Phillips has been fired. Check back for updates to this piece.
Wade Phillips was at the Cowboys' facility this morning as owner Jerry Jones contemplates what and who will "suffer consequences" for his team's 1-7 start. Phillips was the first public casualty of that decree as news began spreading shortly before 3 p.m. EST that Phillips had been fired.
This has been the worst start for the Cowboys since their 0-8 start in 1989. The question now is if Jerry Jones can pull the pieces together to win another three Super Bowls, or if he has run this team so far into the ground he'll have to take a few more steps back before the Cowboys can move forward again.
There are arguments for and against firing Phillips and what kind of negative effect Jones has had on the team, so let's examine them.
We'll start with reasons why Phillips was fired and alternate from there.
Yes 5. The Season Already Is Over, and Phillips Needs To Go
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Jerry Jones doesn't like to change coaches in the middle of a season, arguing it's not going to change anything and might make things worse.
This is a good argument, but the Cowboys already are 1-7 in a division with the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. The season already is over, so Jones might as well make a change right now because it can't get any worse than 1-15.
No 5. The Cowboys Conceivably Could Rally To a 9-7 Wild Card Slot
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Changes are going to be made this week, and the team has to come together at some point. If the Cowboys can correct the mistakes on defense, the offense is good enough to win games.
Plus, once Tony Romo comes back, that will give the offense a spark. Whether Phillips could've had any kind of effect was a matter of debate.
Yes No 4. Wade Phillips Has Let the Game Pass Him By
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It happens to the best of us. The years go by, you get set in your ways and sometimes you just can't make the needed changes for whatever reason.
It appears Phillips has hit that point, and if he has, then it's time for him to move on and firing him was the correct decision.
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No No. 4 Who Else Is Going To Coach?
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Any qualified candidate Jones would want to take the Cowboys job either isn't available right now due to being employed elsewhere, or isn't going to come in and take the reigns in the middle of a season.
So Jones firing of Phillips means he just saw no other alternative.
Yes No. 3 What About Jason Garrett?
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Originally, Phillips was going to be an interim coach until Jason Garrett took over. That never happened.
What better way to see if Jason Garrett should be your head coach for the future by letting him audition for the rest of the season? At this point, there is no downside.
Since Garrett has been named head coach following Phillips departure, it looks like Jones saw the same thing.
No No. 3 Aren't Coaching Problems a Big Factor in This Mess?
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Coaching mistakes, misfires, miscommunications, etc., have plagued the team this year. If Jason Garrett is on this coaching staff, by default that means he's part of the problem.
While Phillips was the one in charge, changing one guy out doesn't necessarily solve the problem.
However, sometimes removing one guy does solve a lot of problems, and Jones seems to be going along with that line of thinking.
Yes No. 2 Phillips Has Lost the Team
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If you watched the Cowboys "play" last night, you know Phillips had lost this team, and a lot of guys looked like they were just going through the motions.
If the team already has thrown it in for the year, a new coach could at least change the attitude in the locker room, which is very bad at the moment.
No No. 2 A New Attitude Doesn't Change the Playoff Race
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The Cowboys may get a new coach, but that doesn't mean all that much if certain players already are consulting their agents because they feel they're on the way out the door anyway.
A new coach usually means new players, but Garrett had a hand in choosing everybody. Again, though, if Garrett doesn't last through the offseason, anything he does from now until the end of the year probably becomes meaningless.
Yes No. 1 A Change Is Needed Now
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The Cowboys of today are dead. Stick a fork in them, they're done.
There was no point in having Wade Phillips finish out this season because that's just prolonging the inevitable and not allowing the team to move forward.
No No. 1 Jerry Jones Has No Better Options
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As has been stated before, the best Jones can do at this point probably is Jason Garrett, which may not change much of anything. But the decision has been made, so there it is.
Click on for the conclusion.
Conclusion: Phillips Needed To Go, Jones Needs To Admit His Mistakes
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Phillips isn't the coach he used to be, the team no longer is listening and Jones made a mistake bringing everybody back this year.
The writing was on the wall last year, but a playoff berth disguised the problems, most of which now are on full display.
Jones stuck with Phillips instead of moving on to Garrett a few years ago, and that now has come back to bite him. There are problems in every aspect of the team, and it no longer is something Jones can fix in one offseason.
Garrett is the best option since it will allow Jones to evaluate him in the head coaching job. At the end of the season, Jones then can decide if Garrett is right for the 2011 campaign, or if it's time to start doing interviews again.
Phillips had his chance, and he just couldn't quite do it. There's no shame in that. It's just the way the NFL is sometimes, not everyone is going to be a Super Bowl winner.
Jones has won Super Bowls, and he now needs to own up to his recent mistakes and move forward.
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