Dallas Won't Remove Phillips

NFL News - October 16th, 2009 - Written by John

The bye week can be disastrous for a struggling team. With very little substantial news to cover, game notes or practice, reporters tend to go fishing spare no one in their quest for the big catch.

Jerry Jones, for one, knows this and won't let his team become a parody. He told KRLD-FM in Dallas on Thursday that his embattled head coach, Wade Phillips, will indeed finish out his contract this year and will not consider firing him midseason. The news comes after the Dallas Cowboys needed overtime to beat the winless Kansas City Chiefs, prompting calls for changes on the sidelines.

"We've got a chance to get a lot of things done," Jones told the radio show hosts. "And we've got a lot of football left to play, and we've got some good people that not only can play it but coach it."

In the overall scheme of things, it's probably a good move by Jones to allow the Dallas Cowboys to focus on the season during their two-week stretch without a game. In times of turmoil the problem is usually the less coach, and more the messenger where beat writers with time on their hands begin to stir the pot. And without that kind of support, there would be nothing but questions and incessant call-ins from fans who believe the coaching staff is accountable for the team's woes.

We've seen this before, recently at Florida State where administrators quickly backed Bobby Bowden after Alumni members called for his head two weeks ago.

It's happening right now in Washington, where head Jim Zorn continues to sit on a sizzling seat after a 2-3 start. Unnamed players have asked owner Daniel Snyder to do what Jones did, publicly securing his job for the remainder of the year. For one it clears the air for the team in general. For two, it allows team members to avoid the redundant questions about the state of the union.

Jones seems to be more than aware of that and is reminding fans of lessons learned from similar situations of other teams.

"Two years ago the Giants were seemingly not in disarray, but they were in trouble," Jones said. "It was also absolutely expected that something was going to happen with the coach, (Tom) Coughlin...Well, that same year they won the Super Bowl. You've got to be mindful that this is a long, long journey...A lot can happen from the beginning to the end."

No one is mistaking this year's Cowboys to the Giants' Championship team, but it would be rather pointless and too much of a headache were Phillips to be fired. Not only is he the head coach, but he is also the playcaller and this is the last year of his three-year deal. If Dallas isn't happy with the results, they won't bother keeping him around and will likely seek another coach.

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