Is Retaining Wade Phillips As Head Coach Of The Cowboys The Right Move?

This morning Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced his decision to bring Head Coach Wade Phillips back for another year. I think that despite winning the NFC East and a playoff game Jerry Jones finds himself in a tough situation. Jones has clearly had plans to promote Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett to Head Coach as soon as Phillips is released by the front office after he made Garrett the highest paid Coordinator in the league a few years ago. I'm sure he was hoping that this season Phillips would either crumble once again in December and not win a playoff game or go on a championship run. Either of those outcomes would make Jones' decision as to whether to keep Phillips or not much easier.

This season Wade Phillips did all that was asked of him. His team played great down the stretch led by Pro Bowl QB Tony Romo. They physically dominated the Philadelphia Eagles at home on consecutive weeks to win the division one game and a wind a Wild Card game the next. Unfortunately they got smothered by Brett Favre and the Vikings on sunday which I believe was the worst possible scenario for Jerry Jones.

With a Cowboy win in the playoffs for the first time since 1996 Jones was obligated to bring Phillips back for another season but I don't think Jones was happy with the decision. I'm sure Wade Phillips will be on the Head Coaching hot-seat next season in what's becoming an annual tradition after the Cowboys failed to live to to some late-season hype. I think Phillips will have to take his team all the way to the Superbowl in 2010 if he wants to return for 2011 and beyond.