Phillips, Garrett Try to Lead Dallas Cowboys Back to Winning Tradition
by Anthony Spaulding
Coaching for any team in the National Football League would be a tremendous job for most football minds.
But calling the plays for the Dallas Cowboys, most people would feel it is a dream career.
In fact, only seven men have had the privilege of coaching America's Team in its 49-year history.
The first three coaches, Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson, and Barry Switzer, put the Cowboys on top of the football world, winning five Super Bowl Championships, 10 conference titles, and 17 divisional crowns. These three playcallers posted a combined 366-241-6 record in their 37 years at Dallas.
However, the next three coaches, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, and Bill Parcells, could not find as much championship success in Big D, as they only brought in one NFC East title while tallying a 67-79 record in nine years.
In an attempt to reverse this trend, the Cowboys decided in 2007 to give the coaching reigns to Wade Phillips, hoping he could bring them back to the top.
Let's look at the man who looks to bring back the winning tradition in Big D.
Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Wade Phillips:
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said at a press conference on Feb. 8, 2007 the organization "got it right" when it hired Phillips as the new head coach.
This feeling seemed to be true at first.
Using a laid-back approach, Phillips produced early success in his first year in Dallas, leading the Cowboys to a league-leading 13-3 record and a division title. But the speedy success ran into a brick wall, as the Cowboys lost to the New York Giants 21-17 in the divisional round of the playoffs after having a first-round bye.
In 2008, Phillips continued using his easy-going philosophy, focusing on giving his players rest in practices and games in order to be fresh for the latter part of the season.
This coaching way worked for the first five weeks, as the Cowboys went 4-1 and looked to repeat as NFC East champs. Then, the Cowboys took a turn for the worst, as quarterback Tony Romo fractured his pinky finger and wide receiver Terrell Owens started causing a controversy between him and Romo.
The result: Dallas finished the season 9-7 and missed the playoffs by a half a game.
After the Cowboys got trounced by the Philadelphia Eagles 44-6 in the season finale, critics wondered whether or not Phillips was the right fit in Dallas.
Phillips responded, saying he would vow to change the way he is coaching, according to a report by The Dallas Morning News.
"I've got to evaluate all of those things, see where we are, and see what we need to do and change," Phillips said in the article. "You can't say, 'Well, OK, everything's going to be all right,' because it's not going to be all right if you do the same thing, and I'm talking about myself."
Phillips has looked to fulfill his promise so far this offseason, as he has officially taken over defensive coordinator duties after Jones fired former defensive mind Brian Stewart.
A former defensive coordinator, Phillips started taking charge of the defense in October after the Cowboys gave up 30-plus points in two straight games, both of which were losses to the Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams.
In addition, he has helped Jones and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett focus on making it more "Tony Romo friendly."
These changes are a start for Phillips' new style, but the only way he will know if it works is if Dallas wins its first playoff game in 13 years and gets a shot at a sixth Super Bowl title.
Assistant Head Coach Jason Garrett:
However, Phillips can't do all of this work alone, which is why he has Garrett as his assistant head coach.
The Cowboys knew what they were getting with Garrett. They realized he had the potential to build a great offense. It was all a matter of giving him a shot.
In his first season as offensive coordinator in Dallas, Garrett made the Cowboys into an offensive firepower, as his unit scored 455 points while averaging 365.7 yards per game, good for second and third in the NFL respectively.
Garrett's offense scored at least 20 points in 14 of Dallas' 16 games, tying for the most in club history with the 1995 squad. Moreover, seven members from this crew made it to the Pro Bowl including star players Romo, Owens, and tight end Jason Witten.
Romo set franchise records in touchdown passes (36) and passing yards (4,211) while Witten established franchise marks for most receptions (96) and receiving yards by a tight end (1,145). Owens caught 81 passes, 15 of which went for touchdowns to lead the NFC.
Despite building one of the greatest offenses in team history, Garrett's group still kept the 12-year playoff draught going after the Cowboys lost to the Giants in the playoffs.
In the offseason, Garrett was rewarded for his work, as Jones selected him to be the assistant head coach of the Cowboys. The promotion made Garrett the highest-paid assistant coach in the NFL, as he will collect around $3 million dollars per year.
After receiving a new contract, Garrett went back to work on his high-flying offense, trying to figure out how to make it the most unstoppable unit in the league since he returned every player except for running back Julius Jones.
Garrett's offense took off in 2008, as Dallas scored an average of 29.1 points per game in the first six weeks of the season. The Cowboys posted a 4-2 mark during the stretch.
But like Phillips, Garrett had to deal with Romo's injury and Owens' shenanigans, ultimately affecting the chemistry of the offense and his coaching style.
During these tough times, the Cowboys offense averaged 18.7 points per game while committing 2.4 turnovers per game, resulting in a 9-7 record and another lost season.
After the season, Cowboys management helped relieve some of Garrett's problems, as the team released Owens in March.
Even though he will miss Owens' production on the field, Garrett feels great about the offense he will be working with in 2009, according to a DallasCowboys.com report.
"We're excited about the group of players we have, the guys we have coming back from last year's team and the guys we added, and we're going to go about doing things the right way each and every day and accept the challenges that are going to be ahead of us," Garrett said. "We're excited about the group we have and going forward."
Garrett's number one priority on his list in 2009 is making Romo comfortable.
So far, Garrett has worked hard to put enough weapons on the field for his star quarterback to use, creating plays involving both go-to players (Witten, running back Marion Barber, wide receiver Roy Williams) and role players (running back Felix Jones, running back Tashard Choice, wideout Patrick Crayton).
But if Garrett can give Romo confidence in using these plays while letting him have the freedom to change them up on the fly, the Cowboys may be looking at an elite offense moving in the right direction.
2009 Dallas Cowboys coaching staff:
Wade Phillips- Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator
Jason Garrett- Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator
Ray Sherman- Wide Receivers
John Garrett- Tight Ends
Wade Wilson- Quarterbacks
Hudson Houck- Offensive Line
Wesley Phillips- Offensive Quality Control
Todd Grantham- Defensive Line
Dave Campo- Secondary
Reggie Herring- Linebackers
Dat Nguyen- Assistant Linebackers/ Defensive Quality Control
Brett Maxie- Assistant Secondary
Joe DeCamillis- Special Teams
Coaching for any team in the National Football League would be a tremendous job for most football minds.
But calling the plays for the Dallas Cowboys, most people would feel it is a dream career.
In fact, only seven men have had the privilege of coaching America's Team in its 49-year history.
The first three coaches, Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson, and Barry Switzer, put the Cowboys on top of the football world, winning five Super Bowl Championships, 10 conference titles, and 17 divisional crowns. These three playcallers posted a combined 366-241-6 record in their 37 years at Dallas.
However, the next three coaches, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, and Bill Parcells, could not find as much championship success in Big D, as they only brought in one NFC East title while tallying a 67-79 record in nine years.
In an attempt to reverse this trend, the Cowboys decided in 2007 to give the coaching reigns to Wade Phillips, hoping he could bring them back to the top.
Let's look at the man who looks to bring back the winning tradition in Big D.
Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Wade Phillips:
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said at a press conference on Feb. 8, 2007 the organization "got it right" when it hired Phillips as the new head coach.
This feeling seemed to be true at first.
Using a laid-back approach, Phillips produced early success in his first year in Dallas, leading the Cowboys to a league-leading 13-3 record and a division title. But the speedy success ran into a brick wall, as the Cowboys lost to the New York Giants 21-17 in the divisional round of the playoffs after having a first-round bye.
In 2008, Phillips continued using his easy-going philosophy, focusing on giving his players rest in practices and games in order to be fresh for the latter part of the season.
This coaching way worked for the first five weeks, as the Cowboys went 4-1 and looked to repeat as NFC East champs. Then, the Cowboys took a turn for the worst, as quarterback Tony Romo fractured his pinky finger and wide receiver Terrell Owens started causing a controversy between him and Romo.
The result: Dallas finished the season 9-7 and missed the playoffs by a half a game.
After the Cowboys got trounced by the Philadelphia Eagles 44-6 in the season finale, critics wondered whether or not Phillips was the right fit in Dallas.
Phillips responded, saying he would vow to change the way he is coaching, according to a report by The Dallas Morning News.
"I've got to evaluate all of those things, see where we are, and see what we need to do and change," Phillips said in the article. "You can't say, 'Well, OK, everything's going to be all right,' because it's not going to be all right if you do the same thing, and I'm talking about myself."
Phillips has looked to fulfill his promise so far this offseason, as he has officially taken over defensive coordinator duties after Jones fired former defensive mind Brian Stewart.
A former defensive coordinator, Phillips started taking charge of the defense in October after the Cowboys gave up 30-plus points in two straight games, both of which were losses to the Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams.
In addition, he has helped Jones and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett focus on making it more "Tony Romo friendly."
These changes are a start for Phillips' new style, but the only way he will know if it works is if Dallas wins its first playoff game in 13 years and gets a shot at a sixth Super Bowl title.
Assistant Head Coach Jason Garrett:
However, Phillips can't do all of this work alone, which is why he has Garrett as his assistant head coach.
The Cowboys knew what they were getting with Garrett. They realized he had the potential to build a great offense. It was all a matter of giving him a shot.
In his first season as offensive coordinator in Dallas, Garrett made the Cowboys into an offensive firepower, as his unit scored 455 points while averaging 365.7 yards per game, good for second and third in the NFL respectively.
Garrett's offense scored at least 20 points in 14 of Dallas' 16 games, tying for the most in club history with the 1995 squad. Moreover, seven members from this crew made it to the Pro Bowl including star players Romo, Owens, and tight end Jason Witten.
Romo set franchise records in touchdown passes (36) and passing yards (4,211) while Witten established franchise marks for most receptions (96) and receiving yards by a tight end (1,145). Owens caught 81 passes, 15 of which went for touchdowns to lead the NFC.
Despite building one of the greatest offenses in team history, Garrett's group still kept the 12-year playoff draught going after the Cowboys lost to the Giants in the playoffs.
In the offseason, Garrett was rewarded for his work, as Jones selected him to be the assistant head coach of the Cowboys. The promotion made Garrett the highest-paid assistant coach in the NFL, as he will collect around $3 million dollars per year.
After receiving a new contract, Garrett went back to work on his high-flying offense, trying to figure out how to make it the most unstoppable unit in the league since he returned every player except for running back Julius Jones.
Garrett's offense took off in 2008, as Dallas scored an average of 29.1 points per game in the first six weeks of the season. The Cowboys posted a 4-2 mark during the stretch.
But like Phillips, Garrett had to deal with Romo's injury and Owens' shenanigans, ultimately affecting the chemistry of the offense and his coaching style.
During these tough times, the Cowboys offense averaged 18.7 points per game while committing 2.4 turnovers per game, resulting in a 9-7 record and another lost season.
After the season, Cowboys management helped relieve some of Garrett's problems, as the team released Owens in March.
Even though he will miss Owens' production on the field, Garrett feels great about the offense he will be working with in 2009, according to a DallasCowboys.com report.
"We're excited about the group of players we have, the guys we have coming back from last year's team and the guys we added, and we're going to go about doing things the right way each and every day and accept the challenges that are going to be ahead of us," Garrett said. "We're excited about the group we have and going forward."
Garrett's number one priority on his list in 2009 is making Romo comfortable.
So far, Garrett has worked hard to put enough weapons on the field for his star quarterback to use, creating plays involving both go-to players (Witten, running back Marion Barber, wide receiver Roy Williams) and role players (running back Felix Jones, running back Tashard Choice, wideout Patrick Crayton).
But if Garrett can give Romo confidence in using these plays while letting him have the freedom to change them up on the fly, the Cowboys may be looking at an elite offense moving in the right direction.
2009 Dallas Cowboys coaching staff:
Wade Phillips- Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator
Jason Garrett- Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator
Ray Sherman- Wide Receivers
John Garrett- Tight Ends
Wade Wilson- Quarterbacks
Hudson Houck- Offensive Line
Wesley Phillips- Offensive Quality Control
Todd Grantham- Defensive Line
Dave Campo- Secondary
Reggie Herring- Linebackers
Dat Nguyen- Assistant Linebackers/ Defensive Quality Control
Brett Maxie- Assistant Secondary
Joe DeCamillis- Special Teams
posted by The Gryphon at 6:58 PM
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