Reaction To The Firing Of Wade Phillips

Here are a variety of reactions to the firing today of Wade Phillips as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

SI.com’s Jerome Bettis:

Firing Phillips was the correct and necessary course of action. The Cowboys’ struggles go far beyond their head coach, but he was no doubt part of the overall problem. When you’ve got a team with loads of talent that’s not playing close to potential, the head coach is going to pay the ultimate price. The situation turned so dire in Dallas that Jones, who doesn’t like to make in-season changes, was forced to make that move.

But don’t pin all the blame on Phillips. The underperforming players are equally accountable, and Jones’ “consequences” could extend their way.

From the New York Times:

The question now is what happens next. Jones, who is highly unlikely to cede general manager control, will be conducting a coaching search — and perhaps a roster overhaul — while the Super Bowl swirls around him. There are several big-name candidates available — Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden are two who have won Super Bowls — but they and Jones will have to decide if all of those powerful personalities can exist together.

Blogging The Boys on the promotion of Jason Garrett:

This will likely spark a furor among the Cowboys faithful. Some, like me, welcome the move and want to see once and for all what Garrett can do. Some others, equally valid in reason, think that Garrett is just part of the problem. We’ll finally know.

Garrett was once the wunderkind, the red-haired genius, the brains behind a very potent Cowboys offense; but as the offense has struggled with redzone woes, a failing running game and a failure to keep Tony Romo healthy, some of the luster has come off. Garrett is embattled like Phillips was, and will have to return this team to a semblance of competitiveness among the NFL landscape or he’s just passing time until the season ends.

Can Jason Garrett get the players respect? Can he get them to play hard? What’s your gut tell you about the Jason Garrett Era?

Paul Pasqualoni To Be Dallas Defensive Coordinator

Former Syracuse University head coach Paul Pasqualoni has been named defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys in the wake of Wade Phillips’ firing. Phillips was also the team’s defensive coordinator.

Pasqualoni, 61, was the head coach at Syracuse from 1987-2004. He was the Dolphins defensive coordinator from 2008-09 before being fired. He returned to the Cowboys a few days later after then defensive line coach Todd Grantham took a job as defensive coordinator at the University of Georgia.

Pasqualoni coached the Cowboys tight ends in 2005 and the linebackers in 2006-07 before leaving for Miami with Tony Sparano.

“Paul’s disposition, his approach, his skill — you know his background and have your own thoughts about it — but I think he brings something to the table to institute for us this week, next week and during this next eight weeks, if you a will a change in the culture,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.

Some in Dallas thought Pasqualoni would be a better interim choice than Jason Garrett, promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach by Jerry Jones.

The best option is defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni.

According to a source, Pasqualoni is the least controversial of the current staffers because he has been a head coach before and because he is tough on the players.

Jones, obviously, disagreed. In Dallas, Jones’ opinion is all that matters.

Wade Phillips Fired, Jason Garrett To Coach Cowboys Vs. Giants

Wade Phillips will not coach the 1-7 Dallas Cowboys when they come to New Meadowlands Stadium this weekend to face the New York Giants. Jason Garrett will. Phillips has reportedly been fired by the Cowboys.

The Cowboys are off to their worst start since 1989, with a 1-7 record. That record includes five straight losses.

This is the first time, in Dallas Cowboys history, that a head coach has been fired mid-season.

Phillips was the seventh coach in Cowboys history (take a look at the Cowboys coaches through the years) and came to the team with more than 30 years of NFL coaching experience. In his three+ seasons with the Cowboys, Phillips complied a 34-22 record.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin should have no trouble selling the Giants on the fact that the Cowboys will be out to show that all their troubles were Phillips fault when they meet this weekend.

Report: Wade Phillips Fired

Bill Jones of CBS 11 has reported via Twitter that Jerry Jones has in fact decided to fire Wade Phillips, after another debacle Sunday night in Green Bay. Phillips had led the Cowboys to a 1-7 record and had admitted this week that he had no answers for how to turn the team around.

Jason Garrett takes over as head coach for the Cowboys, who visit the New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday to take on the Giants.

Will Wade Phillips Have A Job When Cowboys Meet Giants?

Will Wade Phillips be fired as coach of the Dallas Cowboys before the 1-7 Cowboys come to New Meadowlands Stadium to face the New York Giants this weekend?

It's hard to imagine that he won't be. Dallas was embarrassed again Sunday night on national televsion, looking disorganized and disinterested in a dismal 45-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Jerry Jones may finally have had enough, and hinted that changes could take place today.

"There are a lot of people here who are certainly going to suffer and suffer consequences," Jones said. "I'm talking about within the team -- players, coaches who have got careers. This is certainly a setback. I know firsthand what it is to have high expectations. I think unquestionably that our expectations were thinking we're something we were not, possibly looking at what might be relative to a Super Bowl. All of those things have certainly contributed early.

"But we have so many things that we need to correct and address, as this game so vividly exposed and previous games have. I've got a lot of work to do, got a lot of decisions to make. And it's not just one, two, three or four. There are several decisions. I think everybody in this country would agree that there's a lot wrong with this team that we've got to address, and I'm certainly the one to address it."

Over at SB Nation's Cowboys website, Blogging the Boys, they are begging Jones to make a change.

Maybe we're overreacting, maybe we're spoiled. There are plenty of teams that have been this bad for much longer than what we're experiencing. So if you want to call us out on that, feel free to do it, you'd be right. But ... there's no reason for Wade to continue coaching this team.

The Green Bay Packers toyed with the Cowboys. The Jacksonville Jaguars did the same a week ago. They didn't just beat the Cowboys, they humiliated them. 1-7. The 2010 Dallas Cowboys have imploded.

The surprising thing for the folks at BTB is that it took them this long to come to that conclusion. Fact is, the Cowboys never were going to win big with Phillips as their nominal head coach.

SB Nation's Andrew Sharp actually feels bad for Phillips.

With Wade Phillips reeling, we should make it completely clear: this isn't all his fault.

But he still needs to go, and you can choose your metaphor here. Maybe he's a CEO that's overseen the dramatic collapse of a Fortune 500 company, a humiliated lightning rod for criticism, just waiting for the board of directors to vote him out at the end of the year. Or maybe he's an animal, whimpering softly by the side of the road, waiting to be put out of his misery. Or perhaps he's the boyfriend that knows things aren't working, just waiting to have "The Talk" where his worst fears are confirmed and he finds out things are over for good. Then, both sides start over.

However you want to look at it, though, all of those scenarios favor firing Wade now. Clearly, after the Dallas Cowboys somehow found a new way to humiliate themselves on national TV last night, anything would be an improvement for this year's Cowboys. But it would also be the best thing for Wade Phillips.

Say what you want about him, but he's a good coach who's done his best in a difficult situation the past few years in Dallas. He deserves the courtesy of being sent on his way before things devolve further and the humiliation gets even more spectacular.

Call it a mercy killing, if you will, but Sharp is right. There is no reason for this spectacular failure to go on any longer.