Cowboys' Coaching Conundrum

After ending the season on a down note, Jerry Jones emphatically defended his head coach, Wade Phillips. Jones preached stability and consistency. He said that Wade "deserved" another chance, considering that 2008 was marred with injuries to Romo, Felix Jones, Terrance Newman, Anthony Spencer, Jason Witten and a slew of others.

All of this happened in 2008. Since then, these coaches have officially become available:

Mike Holmgren - 13 playoff wins; 1 Super Bowl appearance; .542 playoff winning pct.
Mike Shanahan - 8 playoff wins; 2 Super Bowls; .615 playoff winning pct.
Tony Dungy - 7 playoff wins; 1 Super Bowl; .538 playoff winning pct.
Jon Gruden - 5 playoff wins; 1 Super Bowl; .556 playoff winning pct.
Bill Cowher - 12 playoff wins; 1 Super Bowl (2 appearances); .571 playoff winning pct.

At age 61, Wade Phillips has zero playoff wins. ZERO. His winning percentage sits at a crisp .000

On December 28th, when I heard Jerry indicate that Wade was coming back, like most Cowboys fans...I threw up in my mouth a little bit. But being the optimist that I am, I tried to justify the move. The best argument that I could muster was that there really weren't very many good options out there.

I wasn't sold on Garrett after the season he had produced. Haslett? Mangini? Picking between those guys was like deciding whether to attend a Jonas Brothers concert or committing suicide. Neither was a great option...but at least suicide would end quickly!

So, at the time, Jerry really didn't have many good options to choose from. That has changed; Holmgren, Shanahan, Dungy, Gruden and Cowher?! Has there ever been an offseason featuring five Super-Bowl-winning coaches? Not that I can remember.

And while some may suggest that these guys won't work for Jerry Jones, I would disagree. If there is one thing that you can say about Jerry, it's this: he gets what he wants. Like Richard from Tommy Boy said, "he could sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady in white gloves." If Jerry wants one of those guys, chances are, he gets him.

The question remains, what does Jerry want? Is he willing to release some of his power as GM and allow a proven coach to have input on player personnel decisions? Does he want to add some additional excitement to the franchise as they head into Jerry World? Or, does he feel that he inadvertently sabotaged Wade by bringing guys like Pacman on-board? Does Wade deserve a third and deciding season?

I have no idea what Jerry is thinking right now, but I do know one thing: Jerry's decision today is much more difficult than it was on December 28th.