Cowboys fire Wade Phillips

Irving, TX – After weeks of frustration and backing his head coach, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has seen enough and fired Wade Phillips.  ESPN”s Chris Morensen and Ed Werder were the first to break the news.  Phillips was fired after an incredibly disappointing  2010 season in which the Cowboys are just 1-7.  Dallas came into the season with Super Bowl aspirations and hoped to become the first team ever to host a Super Bowl.  However, the Cowboys season has been a disaster and since QB Tony Romo went down with a broken collerbone, the team quit on Phillips.

The move comes less than a year after Phillips was given a two-year contract extension.  Last year, Phillips and the Cowboys won the NFC East and dismantled the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round of the playoffs to earn their first playoff win since 1996. 

The Cowboys were absolutely embarassed on Sunday night losing to the Green Bay Packers 45-7.  The loss was the 5th straight for Dallas and the effort was so pourous that something had to be done.  Jerry Jones had never fired a coach in-season and had said on several occasions that interim coaches were not successful.  He did not want to make a move but after being embarassed yet again, the passion and effort of his players was severly in question.

Phillips finishes his tenure in Dallas with two NFC East titles and his first playoff victory as a head coach.  His 35-23 record (.607) is the best winning percentage for a Dallas Cowboys head coach since Barry Switzer (.625 from 1994-1997) and ranks second in franchise history.

Former offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will take over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.  Garrett was previously one of the highest paid assistants in the National Football League.  Paul Pasquiloni will take over as the new defensive coordinator for the Cowboys.