Cowboys fire Phillips, replace him with Jason Garrett
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett of the Dallas Cowboys during a preseason game against the Houston Texans at Texas Stadium on August 22, 2008 in Irving, Texas. According to reports, Head Coach Wade Phillips was fired by the Dallas Cowboys and replaced by the Cowboys' offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Credit: Getty/Ronald Martinez
An experienced, well-liked head coach gets fired in the middle of a disappointing season and his young coordinator takes over to instill an energy and enthusiasm that had been lacking.
Think it can't happen? Just ask Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell because he did exactly that with the Bills last year when he was named interim head coach as a replacement for Dick Jauron.
Now Jason Garrett, a former backup quarterback for the Giants and several other teams including the Cowboys, will try to do the same. Garrett was named interim coach of the Cowboys Monday, replacing Wade Phillips after a 1-7 start to the season and five straight losses, including Sunday's 45-7 smackdown by the Packers.
Garrett's first game as an NFL head coach will be against the team with which he appeared in his final NFL game as a player. The Cowboys will face the Giants at New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday.
Tom Coughlin noted that he felt badly for Phillips.
"It's a highly competitive business that we're in, and we want to win and we want to win every game," he said. "That's the nature of our profession. No one wants to see a coach dismissed or have his family go through what they're going through, so from a professional standpoint and someone that's one of the 32, we extend our best to Wade and his family."
As for how the change in Dallas affects the Giants' preparation this week, Coughlin said probably not a lot. Garrett has been the Cowboys' offensive coordinator since 2006, so the Giants are familiar with his fingerprints there.
"Whether or not there is any significance to the defense, we're just going to have to see if there are any changes there," Coughlin said. Defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni will take over the defensive play-calling from Phillips.
Garrett, 44, is the first former Cowboys player to become the team's head coach.
The last time the Giants faced an interim head coach making his NFL debut was 16 years ago, but that guy still has the job. The Giants beat Jeff Fisher of the then-Houston Oilers, 13-10, on Nov. 21, 1994.
Jerry Jones said that Garrett will have a chance to get the job on a permanent basis.
"I do believe Jason has the temperament, the disposition, to affect the culture to change," Jones said. "I think this is important."
Jones had stood behind Phillips for weeks before the loss to the Packers on Sunday night.
"Obviously this is a very difficult decision for me, the team and our organization," he said. "We are grateful to Wade and his contributions to the Cowboys, leading us to two division titles in his first three seasons with the club."
Phillips, who received a two-year extension after winning a division title and the team's first playoff game in over a decade in 2009, issued a statement.
"I am disappointed in the results of this season to this point, but I am also very proud of what our team and our players accomplished in the previous three years," Phillips said.
