Sources: Cowboys to name Phillips new head coach ESPN.com Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells ... Cowboys fans have been waiting for the next big name to lead a storied franchise. They might be surprised by the answer. League and Cowboys sources have told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will be named Dallas' head coach. Phillips traveled from San Diego to Dallas on Wednesday night after being told that he was their choice to replace the now-retired Parcells. While contract details must still be worked out and a contract signed, a formal team announcement for Phillips could come as early as Thursday. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had reportedly been torn between hiring a defensive- or offensive-minded coach. Choosing Phillips answers that question and addresses issues with Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera. The Cowboys have been running a 3-4 defense while Rivera is the architect of Chicago's successful 4-3 scheme. Phillips has had great success with the 3-4 defense throughout his career and helped the Chargers to a 14-2 regular-season record in 2006. San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Norv Turner was widely regarded as the front-runner for the Cowboys job. The hiring of former Cowboys quarterback Jason Garrett might have doomed his candidacy. Garrett's role has not been formally defined, but he will likely be named Dallas' offensive coordinator. Turner is considered one of the premier play-callers in the league, and Jones might not have wanted to impede Garrett, who reportedly impressed the Cowboys owner in their interview. Phillips spent much of Tuesday contacting coaches he wants to hire as assistants if he gets the Dallas job, sources told ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli. "It would be an overstatement to say he's putting together a staff," one source said. "But he was just touching base with his guys, updating them as to where he thinks things stand, and trying to hold [potential staffers] together. He is still in the hunt." On Wednesday, Indianapolis Colts assistant head coach Jim Caldwell became the 10th candidate to interview for a vacancy created when Parcells opted to retire on Jan. 21. Phillips interviewed for the job on Jan. 26. Caldwell met with Jones and his son Stephen for more than six hours Wednesday and said he expected a decision to be made in "short order." "I had a great time," Caldwell said of his interview for the Cowboys' head coaching vacancy. "I learned a lot about the organization." In head coaching stints with Denver (1993-94) and Buffalo (1998-2000), Phillips compiled a 45-38 record, including the playoffs, and led his teams to three wild-card berths. He also served stints as interim head coach at New Orleans in 1985 and Atlanta in 2003. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2758164
Has Wade won a playoff game as head coach? Isnt it amazing that the Dallas Cowboys have not won a playoff game in a decade?
Off all the guys, he , imo, was about 5th on the list. I figured Rivera was the frontrunner. You have a lot of young talent on that defense and he could have done some great things with them. With Wade as the head coach, and Garrett apparently as the OC, thats a big step backwards i think.
I'm not 100% there on Wade being the guy to take us to the promise land, but glad it wasn't Garrett...I do like the Texas connection, Bum coaching the Oilers and Wade coaching the Cowboys... I thought Rivera would be our DC...I think Norv would be a great OC, but we'll see... The countdown is on until BillC is ready...
Nope. Rivera is a 4-3 guy. Cowboys are built for the 3-4. Wade's speciality. No way America's Team is going back to that defensive scheme anytime soon.
I am underwhelmed; not because I don't think Wade Philiips is a good NFL coach with a lot of experience, but (and I have met him) he just doesn't have much personalilty. The head coach of an NFL team should be the personality of the team and set the tone for the organization. I suspect that Jerry Jones (ie. The Hillbilly Carpetbagger) chose Phillips exactly because his personality will be subserviant to the Jones'. As a figure head, inspirational leader and final arbitrator I'd of much preferred Mike Singletary with the Norv and Rivera or Phillips as assistant head coachs and coordinators. You couldn't have bought more integrity than Mike.
it was the 3-4 as opposed to the 4-3 which rivera runs. I wanted rivera first, phillips second, caldwell third, and norv turner last.
I'm not going to pretend to know if this was the right decision. It's Jerry's call. He did the interviews. He thinks he knows what we need. He's the boss. He could have hired any one of the ten plus people he interviewed and you would see the same crap written with most fans saying what a mistake it is while others saying how this was the right move. I'm not going to rely on fan opinion to tell me this is a bad or good choice. It's nice to know you all are set in your opinions, however. I think the only way you can absolutely say this was right or wrong is based on results. Any other speculation is completely useless in determing this.
this is a sports message board. you shouldn't be surprised about speculation and opinion regarding sports from sports fans.
I would have preferred some new blood vs a retread like Phillips but I think he'll be an OK defensive coach and last year the defense was very predictible and not very aggressive. The question is who is going to get the offense on track?
