Ship sinking! Cowboys must dump Phillips
By Tim Cowlishaw
The Dallas Morning News
It was right there in front of Jerry Jones' eyes.
And he missed it.
There is no more shining example of how the radical move of an in-season head coaching change can work than the one being offered by the St. Louis Rams.
Dead in the water at 0-4, the Rams fired Scott Linehan during their bye week and promoted Jim Haslett.
Last week's two-point win against Washington seemed a bit of a fluke, predicated as it was on gathering in three Redskins fumbles.
There was nothing remotely lucky about the Rams' thorough 34-14 destruction of the Dallas Cowboys at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday.
What has been gathering steam for a month reached something of a crescendo as the Cowboys played by far their worst game of the Wade Phillips era. And frankly, it should be the last game of the Phillips era, but Jones made it clear afterward there will be no coaching changes made.
"It really isn't about changes people-wise as much as it is changes within the people, within the coaches and players," Jones said.
No, Jerry, it really is about changing the people. This team is 1-3 during the past four weeks, a win against winless Cincinnati the only highlight.
Paying Phillips to fade off into the sunset would not cure all of this team's problems by any means. For one thing, the presumed next head coach, Jason Garrett, has for now removed himself from the "hot coordinators" list with his work during the past four weeks.
Phillips' low-key demeanor and aw-shucks approach might have elevated a team that had been beaten down by four years under Bill Parcells. But all of that is gone now.
It's just a team of uninspired excuse makers who take their cue from the head coach.
To his credit, Phillips didn't offer any of his trademark excuses Sunday, but, really, he couldn't. This wasn't about a break or two here or there, a blocked punt, a game that got away.
The Cowboys scored the first seven points, then just sat back and took it for more than three quarters as the Rams scored the next 34 points.
"We've all had stinkers before, but we haven't had one here," Phillips said. "That's what bothers me."
Phillips continues to coach a team that is assessed dumb penalties, that apparently doesn't know an illegal shift from a legal one. Brad Johnson certainly didn't cover himself in glory with his three-interception day in place of Tony Romo, but Johnson had plenty of company on both sides of the ball if you are looking for fall guys.
Rams rookie Donnie Avery looked like he could get open deep any time he wanted to. Steven Jackson (maybe we can still blame this whole thing on Parcells for not drafting him and wanting Julius Jones) ran for 160 yards.
When the defense wasn't getting lit up, Pro Bowl tackle Flozell Adams was getting his helmet handed to him by, among others, backup end James Hall.
The Cowboys owner talked about the need to right this sinking ship before it's too late.
"I understand the fear of continuing down the slope and not playing well," Jones said. "This sobers me up more than any game we've had. This is not the same feeling I had with the other two losses."
For those defeats, you could make excuses, and, very willingly, the head coach did.
This time he couldn't. And he shouldn't be left in place to come up with more excuses as to why a team with so much talent is heading towards the bottom of the NFC East.
There is no way to truly deliver a message of urgency to a collection of players and a coaching staff without, figuratively, cutting off the head.
Replacing Phillips with Garrett installed as the interim head coach would send a message to not just the football world but the locker room. It would spell out clearly that not just the results but the effort or lack thereof that produced a 1-3 stretch is not going to be tolerated.
Jones has acted boldly, swiftly, impetuously in the past.
This might be all of the above. But, really, it's the only way out of the darkness.
You could see it on the Rams' sideline Sunday. Unfortunately, Jerry wasn't looking in that direction.
Expect the Cowboys to continue heading in the wrong one.
The Dallas Morning News
It was right there in front of Jerry Jones' eyes.
And he missed it.
There is no more shining example of how the radical move of an in-season head coaching change can work than the one being offered by the St. Louis Rams.
Dead in the water at 0-4, the Rams fired Scott Linehan during their bye week and promoted Jim Haslett.
Last week's two-point win against Washington seemed a bit of a fluke, predicated as it was on gathering in three Redskins fumbles.
There was nothing remotely lucky about the Rams' thorough 34-14 destruction of the Dallas Cowboys at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday.
What has been gathering steam for a month reached something of a crescendo as the Cowboys played by far their worst game of the Wade Phillips era. And frankly, it should be the last game of the Phillips era, but Jones made it clear afterward there will be no coaching changes made.
"It really isn't about changes people-wise as much as it is changes within the people, within the coaches and players," Jones said.
No, Jerry, it really is about changing the people. This team is 1-3 during the past four weeks, a win against winless Cincinnati the only highlight.
Paying Phillips to fade off into the sunset would not cure all of this team's problems by any means. For one thing, the presumed next head coach, Jason Garrett, has for now removed himself from the "hot coordinators" list with his work during the past four weeks.
Phillips' low-key demeanor and aw-shucks approach might have elevated a team that had been beaten down by four years under Bill Parcells. But all of that is gone now.
It's just a team of uninspired excuse makers who take their cue from the head coach.
To his credit, Phillips didn't offer any of his trademark excuses Sunday, but, really, he couldn't. This wasn't about a break or two here or there, a blocked punt, a game that got away.
The Cowboys scored the first seven points, then just sat back and took it for more than three quarters as the Rams scored the next 34 points.
"We've all had stinkers before, but we haven't had one here," Phillips said. "That's what bothers me."
Phillips continues to coach a team that is assessed dumb penalties, that apparently doesn't know an illegal shift from a legal one. Brad Johnson certainly didn't cover himself in glory with his three-interception day in place of Tony Romo, but Johnson had plenty of company on both sides of the ball if you are looking for fall guys.
Rams rookie Donnie Avery looked like he could get open deep any time he wanted to. Steven Jackson (maybe we can still blame this whole thing on Parcells for not drafting him and wanting Julius Jones) ran for 160 yards.
When the defense wasn't getting lit up, Pro Bowl tackle Flozell Adams was getting his helmet handed to him by, among others, backup end James Hall.
The Cowboys owner talked about the need to right this sinking ship before it's too late.
"I understand the fear of continuing down the slope and not playing well," Jones said. "This sobers me up more than any game we've had. This is not the same feeling I had with the other two losses."
For those defeats, you could make excuses, and, very willingly, the head coach did.
This time he couldn't. And he shouldn't be left in place to come up with more excuses as to why a team with so much talent is heading towards the bottom of the NFC East.
There is no way to truly deliver a message of urgency to a collection of players and a coaching staff without, figuratively, cutting off the head.
Replacing Phillips with Garrett installed as the interim head coach would send a message to not just the football world but the locker room. It would spell out clearly that not just the results but the effort or lack thereof that produced a 1-3 stretch is not going to be tolerated.
Jones has acted boldly, swiftly, impetuously in the past.
This might be all of the above. But, really, it's the only way out of the darkness.
You could see it on the Rams' sideline Sunday. Unfortunately, Jerry wasn't looking in that direction.
Expect the Cowboys to continue heading in the wrong one.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:36 AM
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