Jerrah Takes a Plunge While Wade-ing
by Armin Mohajeri

Yesterday afternoon the Dallas Cowboys announced former San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips as their new head coach. The seventh head coach in the Cowboys storied history. Phillips has significant head coaching experience. He was the interim head coach with the New Orleans Saints, taking the reigns for his father Bum Phillips in 1985. He preceded Mike Shanahan as head coach of the Denver Broncos from 1993-1994. He was hired as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills after Marv Levy retired, holding that job from 1998-2000, where he had his most success. In 2003, the Atlanta Falcons named him interim head coach. While Phillips was successful with the Chargers defense last year and was deserving of a head-coaching gig, the hiring brings about many other questions.

Why is it when a sports team hires a new coach, he is usually the polar opposite of the previous coach? Tuna is a tough guy. He does not hold back when addressing the team or individual players. Wade Phillips is a players coach. He is one of the guys, much less authoritarian than Tuna. We saw a perfect example in the press conference. Where Tuna referred to T.O. as “The Player”, Phillips had no problem referring to T.O. by name. However, this hiring has a Switzer-ish flavor to it. Jerrah is taking control again.

In my first bit regarding the Cowboys coaching search, I pegged Phillips as the most logical choice. However, in the back of my mind, I have been thinking that the most logical choice for Jerrah Jones is…well…Jerrah Jones. This hiring may cement that thought. My thoughts, as ridiculous as I felt they were at the time, were that Jerrah would hire strong offensive and defensive coordinators, and name himself as the head coach. Joe Gibbs has a similar philosophy as the CEO among several strong coaches, though he is a little more hands-on than Jerrah would be. Is “Head Coach” just a title for Wade Phillips? Reports of a low-ball salary offer lead me to believe that it is only a title. We will see if Jerrah is man enough to fire himself if the Cowboys underachieve.

In other news…

Rumors surrounding Bucs coach Jon Gruden say that he is eyeing the Philly job, in case Andy Reid steps down.

Unconfirmed rumors continue to swirl regarding the Vikings possibly trying to trade for Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals.

Trying to get the proverbial monkey off his back, Tony Romo asked to be the holder in the pro bowl.