SPORTSDAY

JOHN F. RHODES / DMN

Unlike Massachusetts native Albert "Einstein" Breer, I'm not thin-skinned, so my feathers aren't ruffled by Jim Fassel's accusations that bloggers cost him the Redskins gig.

Plus, I know that Fassel is right. Bloggers have a whole lot of pull in NFL coaching searches. Look no further than this here blog for proof.

I was on the Wade Phillips bandwagon from the get-go. Jerry held hands with old pal Norv Turner at the Hall of Fame, but he hired Bum's boy based primarily on my advice.

Now, Coach Wade critics might point out that Turner's Chargers played in a conference championship game while the Cowboys had the weekend off. But the Cowboys were the clearly surperior team. Just look at the winning percentages -- Cowboys (13-4, .765); Chargers (13-6, .684).

ESPN.com's Mike Sando, of Hashmarks fame, took notice of our taking notice of his omission of Wade Phillips from his coaching column.

I'd agree wholeheartedly with Mike -- who shares the Hashmarks throne with Cowboys Blog alum Matt Mosley -- that Wade doesn't deserve to be lumped in with the hanging-by-a-thread set of NFL coaches. It's only fair that Phillips gets credit for a four-game improvement over the team's 2006 performance.

But judging by Jerry Jones' actions over the last month, as detailed by our esteemed columnist JJT, I think it's fair to say that an escape route has been paved by ownership that will make a transition to Jason Garrett easy.

Now, Wade's got his shot to make it happen and keep the job. Still, it's important to know that windows of opportunity are short in the NFL, even for a roster as rich as the Cowboys' is now, and Jerry's never been hesistant with his trigger finger. And while the expectations that are carried with being coach of this franchise couldn't be higher, and play into this, it's not just here that successful regular seasons become irrelevant with playoff failure.

In San Diego, it happened last year. Marty Schottenheimer was fired after a 14-2 regular season. This year, the Chargers went 11-5. And a round further in the playoffs. Ask anyone in Chargerland which one they'd rather have, and the response you'll get is the same as it would be in Dallas.

ESPN.com's Mike Sando has an interesting breakdown of the state of coaching in the NFL. And apparently, he hasn't been listening to all of you.

Category 1 in Sando's piece in "On the hot seat." Leading the way there is Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis, who Sando says is one of just two coaches since 1996 to be given a sixth year on the job without winning playoff game. Two other coaches are in this at-risk group: San Francisco's Mike Nolan and Carolina's John Fox.

Noticeably missing was your own Wade Phillips, who did make the "Second chances pay off" group, though this technically is his third chance. The others in that group, all of whom were fired from previous head coaching jobs: Mike Shanahan, Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy, Tom Coughlin, Dick Jauron and Norv Turner. There are four Super Bowl champions in that group, for the record.

After thinking about it for a little over a day, I still can't figure out why the Cowboys would be interested in adding Gregg Williams to their coaching staff.

Nothing against Williams, who is by all accounts an outstanding defensive mind, but he just doesn't fit here. He's a 4-3 guy, and I don't think Wade Phillips will stop using the Phillips 3-4 anytime soon.

Phillips shrugged off Dave Campo's lack of 3-4 experience, explaining that it's not a big deal for a secondary coach because the coverages are pretty much the same in both schemes. Williams, who replaced Phillips as Buffalo's head coach, came up as a linebackers coach.

Jerry clearly doesn't care about ruffling coordinator Brian Stewart's feathers, so we won't sweat that here, either. But you'd think he'd want coaches who fit well with Phillips' scheme.

Dom Capers, a 3-4 innovator, would be a great hire for the Cowboys. Williams would be a big name out of place.

Calvin Watkins reports that multiple sources said the Cowboys have offered Dom Capers a job as the defensive coordinator or a defensive consultant.

Considering the fact that the Cowboys already have a defensive coordinator, it's sort of a sticky situation.

If Capers takes the coordinator post it would leave Brian Stewart, the current defensive coordinator, in limbo.

Sources said Capers called Stewart once the Cowboys contacted him about a job.

Capers, who gave Stewart his first NFL job with the Houston Texans in 2002, asked the Cowboys' coordinator if Capers' presence on the staff would bother him.

A day later, sources said, Stewart told Capers he would be uncomfortable if the veteran coach joined the organization. Capers, according to sources, told Stewart he would pass on the opportunity to join the team.

When Capers informed the Cowboys of his decision, the club talked him into coming to Valley Ranch on Tuesday for an interview.

Stewart is the only assistant on the staff who worked under Wade Phillips before arriving at Valley Ranch. Capers was Jason Garrett's choice to be his defensive coordinator if Garrett became the head coach in Baltimore or Atlanta. Feel free to jump to conclusions about what Jerry's up to here.

So much for the Tuna's raid of Valley Ranch giving Wade Phillips an opportunity to hire "his guys."

If Jerry guy Dave Campo and Dom Capers round out the Cowboys' coaching staff, Phillips will have exactly zero experience working with any of the defensive position coaches. But the Cowboys will be set up awfully well for the eventual transition into the Jason Garrett era.

Garrett reportedly wanted Capers to be his defensive coordinator if he became the head coach in Baltimore. Jerry is on the record saying WR coach Ray Sherman is a "future coordinator" who "knows this system inside and out." So, if Capers comes on board, Garrett's coordinators will already be in the building. And it's not too tough to envision Campo becoming the assistant head coach.

Plenty of people figured, with the departure of three defensive position coaches, there'd be an influx of "Wade Guys" around here.

So much for that.

The new defensive line coach isn't quite a Bill Parcells guy, but he coached a gap-control 3-4 defense under Tuna/Belichick disciple Romeo Crennel the last three years with the Browns. Crennel fired him after the Browns' 10-6 season, in which the defense Grantham coordinated ranked 30th in the NFL.

Previous to his run as DC in Cleveland (2005-07), Grantham served terms as defensive line coach with the Colts (1999-2001) under Jim Mora and with the Texans under Dom Capers (2002-04). Capers' 3-4, by the way, is a bit more like Phillips' than it is like the version run by Parcells. So he does have varied experience, in having coached different types of these fronts.

From Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback:

I think those were some bizarre and dumb comments by Wade Phillips the other day, in the wake of the playoff loss to the Giants. "I feel like the best team lost the game. I thought we outplayed them, but we lost.'' A belittling statement. And one the Giants, if they have any pride, will remember next fall.

Unlike a certain previous instance, I think King understood what Phillips meant despite their cultural differences.

Record-breaking ex-Cowboy tailback Emmitt Smith was involved in another comedic moment on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, and this time it was all intentional. Chris Berman and Tom Jackson were doing a Tale of Tape (Cowboys Blog is looking into copyright infringement issues) on the Packers-Giants game, and when it came to breaking down the coaching matchup, TJ (Coughlin) and Emmitt (McCarthy) split the vote.

That led to this exchange ...

Boomer: Both teams in their (coach's) image.

T.J.: Like the Cowboys, Emmitt!!!

And over-laughter ensued. Seems like Wade just can't catch a break this week.

When you get a new job, it's usually a good idea to build a strong relationship with your boss. Let's say that Cowboys offensive line coach Hudson Houck didn't get himself off to a bad start.

"Quite honestly, the thing never took off, the San Diego staff never took off until Wade got there," Houck said, referencing the year he and Wade Phillips spent together with the Chargers in 2004. "That's the truth. The defense really started playing better, and then the offense started playing better."

And so it went through a pretty easygoing media session. One thing Houck was adamant about was that after he was dismissed from Miami, along with the rest of Cam Cameron's staff, he never thought about hanging up his whistle.

"It never even crossed my mind, to be quite honest with you," Houck said. "In fact, after the season we had last year, I probably wanted to coach more and longer than ever. You don't want that taste in your mouth very long. In fact, if we were going to start practicing tomorrow, that'd be fine with me."

Along with the new title of assistant head coach, Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett got a hefty raise to a salary of more than $3 million a year. And since that brushes up against what Wade Phillips brings in each year, some might think there's an awkward situation brewing.

But Phillips doesn't look at it like that.

"If you know me, you know it doesn’t bother me at all," Phillips said. "Matter of fact, I’m always happy for coaches that get a raise. I want all my assistant coaches to make all they can."

And he doesn't feel like there's any need to look over his shoulder, either.

"Pressure on me? No," he said. "As long as we got that continuity, and that’s what we look for, it’s great. We got Jason back, which helps me."

That's superstar columnist Kevin Sherrington's advice after Jerry made Jason Garrett the highest-paid assistant coach in the history of the world.

Fortunately for Phillips, Jerry put his faith in a young man of character and principle. The head coach won't need to worry about the offensive coordinator. But Phillips had better be leery of his owner.

Garrett wants to be a head coach, even though he just turned down two offers. His chances of it happening here are about as good as Tony Romo's odds of getting lucky at Ghostbar -- pretty much a sure thing.

But Garrett doesn't have a hand in the current head coach's back in an effort to push him out the door. He said he's not worried about what could be some interesting chemistry in the coaches' office now that he's unofficially the coach in waiting.

"I don't worry about that at all because I know what Wade's all about, and to be honest with you, I know what I'm all about, too," Garrett said during yesterday's press conference. "We're both all about team, and I can't say this enough – I'm really fortunate to work for Wade Phillips.

"I've told you guys this before; there were 50 people who told me last year what a special guy Wade is. This is before we're working together. And then when I had a chance to work with him, I can see what everyone is saying."

"I'm awfully excited to be sitting in this chair," Jason Garrett said early in his press conference.

Which chair was he sitting in? The same one Wade Phillips does during his daily chats with the Valley Ranch media horde.

I'm sure Garrett didn't mean to imply that he wanted to sit in that chair on a regular basis, but that's the first thing that popped into my sensationalizing mind. Oh, the symbolism.

Garrett went out of his way to praise Wade Phillips this afternoon. And Phillips lavished praise on Garrett, calling him a "special coach" who is "vital to what we do."

However, there sure will be an interesting dynamic between the Cowboys' head coach and the highest-paid assistant in the league. Garrett said he wasn't promised that he'd be the Cowboys' next head coach, but it doesn't take a whole lot of imagination to envision Jerry giving him a wink-wink deal.

The only question is when Garrett will get that chair on a permanent basis.

UPDATE: Matt Mosley thinks Garrett gets the seat for good after next season.

With the news that Jason Garrett will return as offensive coordinator for the 2008 season, the Cowboys coaching staff dodged a major bullet. Had Garrett bolted, Phillips might just be looking at replacing a coordinator, an assistant head coach and five of his eight position coaches (a dynamic Jacques Taylor addressed vigorously this morning.)

In that way, Jerry wooing Garrett back to Dallas was a coup. But there are still some decisions to make.

The Cowboys could still be replacing every position coach on defense, in addition to their offensive line coach. Follow the jump for a rundown where the guys from the 2007 staff stand.

I might be the biggest Wade Phillips apologist in the media. Heck, I've been on board with him since the day Bill Parcells called it quits.

(Memo to Wade: These last couple days have been tough -- especially your post-mortem presser -- but I still believe in you. This team significantly exceeded expectations in the regular season, and I give you a lot of credit for that. Thirteen wins earn you a one-time pass for a playoff flop.)

Alas, as once noted by the great Brad Sham on a popular local radio show, I am just a blaaaaahger. That's why I was so pleased to read superstar columnist Tim Cowlishaw's fine work in this morning's wood-pulp product.

But a move of any kind would be humiliating to Phillips, who, despite finishing the season on the same depressing down note that Gailey and Parcells could not avoid, deserves better.

That was Wade Phillips' take on the Cowboys' loss to the Giants.

The Cowboys had a signicant advantage in total yardage (336-230). Same for first downs (23-16). And Dallas dominated the time of possession battle, controlling the ball for 36:30.

But the only numbers that meant anything were on the scoreboard: Giants 21, Cowboys 17.

"After looking at the tape, I certainly feel like the best team lost the game," Phillips said, a statement sure to make Big Blue bulletin boards next season. "I feel like we outplayed them, but we lost."

Phillips said he'd accept the blame. But he made sure to mention that the Cowboys exceeded expectations and advanced into the divisional round for the first time since 1996. He thought the Cowboys would still be playing, but the Giants made the plays that mattered Sunday.

"I just thought that we had a better team than they had," Phillips said. "We'd proven it twice, and I thought we proved it again."

Yep, the Cowboys sure showed those Giants.

You might remember NBCSports.com's Tom Curran. He's the Massachusetts native who has been writing mean things about Wade Phillips all season.

After the playoff loss, Curran cranked out a told-ya-so column. He blames Phillips for the Cowboys' premature playoff exit, saying Wade sent the wrong message with his everything-is-OK attitude during December.

The man in charge confused regular-season success with real accomplishment.

Ton of analysis coming today on Cowboys Blog, and we'll set you up here. The locker room will open at 11 a.m., and there's an hour of access there. And then coach Wade Phillips will be available at 1 p.m.

Lots and lots of explaining to do.

And I think it starts at the top. Fact is, I think this team bought into the idea of its own greatness. What had it accomplished? Really -- if you think team success in the NFL is determined in January and February -- the answer is simple. Absolutely, positively nothing.

It's the head coach's job to knock that off. Yet, it felt like Wade Phillips went whistling on by the graveyard, and led this right to its funeral. By allowing this team to walk around as if its fingers were bejeweled, he allowed its edge to be taken away. And now, we're left with this.

Hashmarks superstar Matt Mosley, founder of this here blog, saw a funny/sad scene in the parking lot. Wade Phillips was about to get in his Lincoln Navigator, but the poor fella couldn't find his keys.

As if falling to 0-4 in the playoffs as a head coach wasn't embarrassing enough.

JOHN F. RHODES / DMN

Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones was asked the question point-blank: Do you re-evaluate Wade's performance in light of tonight's playoff flop?

His answer was just as succinct.

"No. No. No," Jones said. "I said nothing that we did in the playoffs would affect the status of his job. It’s not an issue. He’s our head coach."

As for the status of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and assistant head coach Tony Sparano, each of whom is in the running for multiple head coaching openings, Jones said he's prepared to lose either of them. And he reiterated that the potential loss of an assistant will not affect his decision-making in regards to the head coach. That decision, he says, has been made.

"I can’t elaborate on (Sparano and Garrett), but certainly part of my job is to make sure that, on a timely basis, we’re able to address what happens to our staff," Jones said. "When you enjoy success, you’re going to lose coaches. I should and do have prospective coaches I would think of if we have openings."

Timmy Tabloid said that that NBCSports.com's Tom Curran took "cheap shots" at Cowboys coach Wade Phillips yesterday

I don't know if they were cheap. Seemed pretty straight-forward to me.

And knowing Tom, I do know that he's maintained this position for a little while. Just look here, and you'll see that. Not saying he's right or wrong. Just that this wasn't some out-of-nowhere smear campaign he went on.

Wade Phillips must have hawked a loogie in Massachusetts native Tom Curran's clam chowdah or something. I can't think of any other reason the NBCSports.com scribe would take not one, not two, but three cheap shots at Phillips in Curran's rankings of the eight teams still alive.

At least Curran blatantly kissed Bill Belichick's butt twice, though.

Wade Phillips found himself in the strange situation of answering questions about his job security while preparing his 13-3 team for a playoff game.

Jerry Jones made it clear during a press conference at Valley Ranch today that speculation of Phillips being one-and-done as the Cowboys' head coach is off base.

"There's nothing that can happen in the playoffs that would change my thinking about him being head coach of the Dallas Cowboys," Jerry said, "and I don't know how you could even have a question as to whether or not he's coaching or not for the Cowboys in the future."

The speculation started because of Jerry's fondness for offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who has already interviewed for head coaching vacancies in Atlanta and Baltimore. The theory was that Jerry could fire Phillips and promote Garrett instead of letting the red-headed genius go elsewhere to become a head coach.

Wade Phillips has a rep as the ultimate players' coach, but he put his foot down after the Cowboys picked up three post-play personal fouls in their last game against the Giants.

You can snicker at the Pee Wee-type pledge not to commit such penalties that Phillips had the Cowboys sign, but it's worked. They haven't been called for the type of penalty that had Jimmy Johnson ranting about a "relaxed-type atmosphere" since signing the pledge.

"It's a statement that was made by each and every player on this team," said Keith Davis, who was called for a personal foul after the opening kickoff of the second half. "They signed the sheet, and guys have owned up to it."

Several New York scribes made their way to Valley Ranch today, so Wade Phillips was asked a bunch of questions about Tony Romo's focus that he answered Monday.

Phillips wasn't too fond of this line of questioning, so he made it as clear as possible that he has confidence in Romo.

"I don't know that you can believe in a quarterback more than I believe in him," Phillips said.

It sounds crazy to question a coach's job security after he went 13-3 and earned the NFC's top seed in his first season with a team.

But that's exactly what happened this afternoon with Wade Phillips. And it's a legit question, considering the unique circumstances around Valley Ranch.

Jason Garrett, who Jerry hired before Phillips, will probably replace Phillips at some point if another team doesn't hire him as a head coach first. And Jerry has history parting ways with an awfully successful coach, breaking up with college buddy Jimmy Johnson after two Super Bowls.

So there's speculation that Phillips could be fired if the Cowboys fail in the playoffs, but he isn't about to sit around and worry about whether he'll be back next season.

Wade Phillips will experience a first next week. He'll be the head coach of the home team during a playoff game.

Of course, he hopes to get his first playoff win after coming up short his first three tries -- and getting his heart ripped out the last two. Here's Phillips game-by-game history as a head coach in the playoffs.

Raiders 42, Broncos 24 -- You could argue that the outcome of this game was decided the previous week, when the Raiders rallied from a 13-0 deficit to beat the Broncos by a field goal and earn a playoff berth.

Dolphins 24, Bills 17 -- This game is best remembered for Miami coach Jimmy Johnson celebrating by stomping on a box of Flutie Flakes, something he later apologized for. The Bills almost pulled off an amazing comeback, but Trace Armstrong's sack of Flutie inside the Dolphins' 10 in the final minute forced Buffalo's fifth turnover. The Bills blamed the refs for ending their season.

Titans 22, Bills 16 -- Phillips' decision to start Rob Johnson instead of Doug Flutie created major controversy in Buffalo, but it became a mere footnote after one of the wildest finishes in NFL playoff history. Johnson had a shaky game, but he engineered a drive that gave the Bills a lead with 16 seconds remaining. That set up the Music City Miracle. Oh, and good luck convincing Phillips that Frank Wycheck didn't throw a forward pass.

Wade Phillips didn't mention the Cowboys' 13-3 record once during his press conference the last couple days.

That's a good thing. Everybody knows how many games the Cowboys won in the regular season. Those 13 wins earned the Cowboys a pat on the back, a bye and the right to sleep in their own beds during the playoffs.

Those wins don't guarantee a playoff win, which Phillips should know better than anybody. The Chargers won 14 games and were one-and-done in last season's playoffs.

It comes across as insecure to keep saying "13-3" every time it's pointed out that this team isn't perfect (and was mediocre last month), and my biggest criticism of Phillips in his fine first season at Valley Ranch is that he's too sensitive to criticism.

Phillips doesn't need to keep reminding reporters and fans about how much success the Cowboys enjoyed in the regular season. He deserves credit for a job well done, since 10 wins and perhaps the franchise's first playoff win in 11 years were a realistic expectation entering the season. You had to be wearing some pretty thick blue-and-silver glasses to expect this team to tie a franchise record for wins.

In the process, Phillips has raised expectations around these parts. Nothing less than a trip to Arizona will be acceptable.

Click here and scroll down a bit to read a rip job of Wade Phillips by NBCSports.com's Tom Curran.

He heard Phillips' Chicken Little talk on Monday and responds by calling him a Pollyanna. Curran compares Phillips' "13-3" approach to Bill Belichick's paranoia and implies the Patriots coach's method is better.

The Associated Press has revealed its Coach of the Year a week earlier (thanks to some of my favorite troublemakers up at the Boston Herald) and it is, as we mentioned earlier, Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips finished in a third-place tie with Jacksonville's Jack Del Rio, behind Belichick and Green Bay's Mike McCarthy. Here's how the 50 voters cast their ballots:

1. Bill Belichick, NE: 29
2. Mike McCarthy, GB: 15
t-3. Jack Del Rio, Jax: 2
t-3. Wade Phillips, Dal: 2
t-5. Tony Dungy, Ind: 1
t-5. Jon Gruden, TB: 1

The Cowboys were pulling shoulder pads on this morning, and it looks like they'll be hitting in practice for the first time in a month. They've been sweats or shells for some time now.

Why? Well, here's two reasons from the Redskins game: They couldn't run the ball and they couldn't stop the run. Offensively, the number in that category was historically bad. Defensively, the problem's pretty long-ranging. For the fourth time in five games, the Cowboys allowed more than 120 yards rushing, after yielding that many just twice in their first 11 games.

So work on run fits on defense and blocking on offense could be a focus today. Also playing in to this, without question, is the fact that it's a bye week, and that allows for a little more banging with the next game so far off.

Columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor says in today's Inside Valley Ranch newsletter that Wade Phillips will be judged, almost solely, on how the 2007 Cowboys perform in the playoffs.

It's been well-documented that he's 0-3 in playoff games as a head coach. So I thought it'd be interesting to include his work as a DC too. I came up with a 5-11 record. Here's the rundown:

Chargers defensive coordinator (2004-06): 0-2
Falcons defensive coordinator (2002-03): 1-1
Bills head coach (1998-2000): 0-2
Bills defensive coordinator (1995-97): 1-2
Denver Broncos head coach (1993-94): 0-1
Broncos defensive coordinator (1989-92): 3-2
Eagles defensive coordinator (1986-88): 0-1
Saints defensive coordinator (1981-85): 0-0

We confirmed as much minutes ago with Wade Phillips, the coach who made no less than seven direct references to the team's sparkling record at his 24-minute day-after news conference.

Asked if he thinks his team's getting a bum rap right now, he responded: "I think it's unfair, sure." And what surrounded that statement was as combative a news conference as Phillips has held all year.

Now, here's the weird part. When asked about a specific aspect of Sunday's loss, Phillips fired back, "That game's over with." Then, he went with this:

"You look at every category, I looked at some of them today, we’re in the top 10 in 18 of 24," Phillips said. "Offensively and defensively, take 12 categories for each – scoring, offense, defense, run, all those things. You take 12 of each of them, and in 18 of the 24, we’re in the top 10.

Wade Phillips offered up his reaction this morning to the four-year deal signed by Patrick Crayton yesterday.

"It was certainly good for the team that Patrick Crayton was signed," Phillips said. "Doing (Jay) Ratliff and Crayton, really good players who are really good team players, these kind of guys make a difference in your season. So I think it’s important to have them and have them for a while. … We have the right kind of people and we’re trying to keep the right kind of people."

The clincher for Phillips is that last part of it -- rewarding what he calls "the right kind of people."

"Anytime you have people you know and you can count on, those are the kind of people you want to keep on your team," he added. "That’s what we’re trying to do."

I chose questions about Isaiah Stanback and Bobby Carpenter from this morning's post. He indicated that Stanback should get some playing time Sunday, and he gave a much-more-honest-than-expected answer when asked why Bobby Carpenter hasn't found a role in one of the Cowboys' many defensive packages.

"'Cause of us, maybe," Phillips said, referring to the coaching staff. "You know, we've made those decisions, and that's what we've gone with. I told them all, coaches don't always make the right decisions.

"And I think Bobby will say this. The last preseason game, we gave him a big opportunity, and he'd didn’t play well. Maybe we looked at that too hard, because he's practiced hard. He's done all the right things in practice. Good guy, and he's a good athlete.

"Bradie James certainly came through. That was a part of it, too. I didn't have that feeling going in, but I did after a certain time – that Bradie was a really good football player and needed to be on the field for us at that position during first and second downs, for sure. That kind of inhibited what we were going to do with Bobby.

"He'll get some playing time this week and get an opportunity to kind of show us again what he can do."

Several of you folks seem annoyed that us dummies in the Dallas media can't come up with decent questions to ask Wade Phillips. Well, feel free to fire away with questions you want answered.

I'll ask the best two or three questions during Phillips' press conference today.

I won't wait until the walkoff, which is when writers often save their most important questions so we don't have to share the answers with TV and radio types. We might not be as dumb as you think, you know.

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips updated the status of several players at his presser:

-- Phillips said that it would "surprise" him if C Andre Gurode (sprained MCL) could go on Sunday. He said the chances that Jay Ratliff plays are a bit better than those of Gurode, but that the team will make both decisions, and all other ones, with the ramifications of this game (minor) in mind.

-- WR Terry Glenn, on the other hand, was much improved. "Terry worked with the first team quite a bit," Phillips said. "Terry looked pretty good. He moved well. Speed-wise, he looked good. His quickness looked good. We're encouraged by that, we'll see more tomorrow on him."

-- Here's Wade on if there's a benefit to playing Tony Romo extensively this weekend: "Besides individual goals, not a whole lot, I would think. But some of those things are important, and just finishing the season, that too, whether you're playing the whole game or not."

The Cowboys have clinched home-field advantage, but Wade Phillips insists they have a lot to play for in the regular-season finale against the Redskins. He mentioned pride, the opportunity to set a franchise record with 14 wins and the integrity of the game among other things.

"We're going to try to win the game," Phillips said. "That's the way you play football."

Does that mean the starters will play the entire game? Nope. The Cowboys can try to win with Cory Procter snapping the ball to Brad Johnson in the second half.

Phillips wouldn't get into specifics about which players might rest against the Redskins, although he said that injuries would obviously be considered. Phillips did tell us when he expected to have this week's personnel plans finalized.

"I'd say Sunday probably by about 3:15," Phillips said with a wry smile.

You can count on several key Cowboys getting some rest against the Redskins, but Phillips is determined not to let a preseason feel creep into Valley Ranch this week.

I've made it clear that I don't think Wade Phillips gets enough credit for the Cowboys' improvement this season. That's partially because offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is seen as a rising star.

I'm not slighting Garrett's genius, but I think Tony Romo's experience and Phillips' willingness to be aggressive have helped the offense go from good to great. The addition of RG Leonard "Bigg" Davis certainly didn't hurt. Neither has T.O.'s physical and emotional health.

And, really, the Cowboys' defense has improved nearly as much as the offense. I compared the stats from 2006 and 2007 (follow the jump to see), and the strides the offense made aren't that much more impressive.

You can argue that the offense has missed Terry Glenn. The defense, which has also benefited from a free-agent addition (FS Ken Hamlin), lost NT Jason Ferguson and has dealt with injuries to its starting cornerbacks all season. OLB Greg Ellis missed games in both season.

And, of course, Phillips' effect on the team's morale has been immeasurable.

Jim "Playoffs?!" Mora noted the Cowboys' whopping total of Pro Bowlers and came to an interesting conclusion.

"They better be the best team in the NFC," Mora said on NFL Network. "Otherwise, they ought to fire the coach, for crying out loud."

I'm sure Wade Phillips appreciates the support.

MICHAEL MULVEY / DMN

S Roy Williams may be facing more serious league discipline this week, after horse-collaring Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, and drawing a penalty for it for the third time this season. After the last infraction, Williams was fined $27,500 and this one, it stands to reason, could lead to a suspension.

And coach Wade Phillips really doesn't see why.

"It wasn’t against the rules until a couple years ago," he said. "Now, all of a sudden, they say it’s against the rules. To me, if you tackle a guy from behind like that and you’re not falling on his legs, you’re not hurting anybody. So what’s wrong with it? Now, if you’re falling on his legs, like he did before, then that’s one thing.

"But that’s the rule and we need to abide by it. He just going to have to learn to do it different. And he passed it up a couple times in that game."

Stories like those of the Phillips family are few and far between.

Wade Phillips and Mike Nolan are the only head coaches in the NFL now who are sons of men who also served in that capacity in the league (though there are plenty of coaches -- i.e. Lane Kiffin, Steve Belichick -- whose fathers were in the profession). As such, Coach Wade and his dad, former Saints and Oilers coach Bum Phillips, can relate on a level not many fathers and sons can. And that leads to some interesting Monday morning quarterbacking.

"I talk to him after the game every week, always have, Phillips said. "Everyone once in a while, he (gives advice.) He’s sharp on football, he always has been. He has a lot of common sense.

"He used to ask me, when I was a defensive coordinator, why we did this or didn’t do that on offense. 'I don’t know, I don’t know why we did it.' And he’d say, ‘Well, you shouldn’t have.’ I’d say, ‘I don’t have anything to do with that.’"

From a Chicago Tribune column on NFL coaching candidates:

•Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.He has a great pedigree. He comes from a football family, has a Princeton education, was an NFL backup quarterback for 11 years, played for Jimmy Johnson, Norv Turner, Jim Fassel, Sean Payton and Jon Gruden and coached under Nick Saban. To say nothing of his tremendous success with Tony Romo this year. Every team will want to interview Garrett, and it would not be shocking if Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is willing to replace Wade Phillips with Garrett next year instead of losing him.

Reckon you can't call anything Jerry does shocking, but I do believe the winningest regular season in Cowboys' history ought to at least earn ol' Wade the right to stick around for a year or two.

Jerry has been very vague when asked about Garrett sticking around, noting that anything would be speculative at this point. However, Jerry implied that he'd go to great lengths to keep the red-headed genius at Valley Ranch.

"I went well out of my way to get him here," Jerry said.

Potential solution: Match any salary offer Garrett gets and promise him that he's the next head coach of the Cowboys.

Texas Tech hoops coach/errant hunter Bob Knight abruptly cut short his interview with KTCK-AM 1310 The Ticket when asked if he'd shot at anybody recently, but the hosts wisely waited awhile offending the General. They actually had a nice discussion about the Cowboys, with Knight pumping up his old pal Bill Parcells.

Knight said he was pleased to see the Cowboys continue in the direction that Parcells got them going. He implied that the Cowboys might have been championship material last season if not for the Seattle Slip.

"Who knows what would have happened if that guy didn't fumble the ball?" Knight said.

There's a perception that Wade Phillips is a puppet for Jerry Jones that somehow lucked into a 12-1 record. Take, for instance, this jab written by Massachusetts native/ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons before the Cowboys' win over the Lions:

I'm just coming out and saying it: Right now, the Cowboys look a little crisper than the Patriots; Terrell Owens looks a little more larger-than-life than Randy Moss; the Dallas defense looks better than New England's defense; Dallas' running game looks decidedly better than New England's running game; and unlike the Pats, Dallas is only looking at one tough playoff game before Arizona instead of two. So why not move the Cowboys ahead of the Patriots in the Week 14 Power Poll? Because of the picture directly to the right [Phillips], that's why.

(Fritz in L.A. submits an interesting theory: "Maybe I'm crazy, but I think Jerry Jones hired Wade Phillips so Jason Garrett could secretly run the team without media scrutiny. What better way to audition Garrett than to hide him behind a figurehead coach who just smiles and makes everyone think the Cowboys have veteran leadership? If it worked for the Bad News Bears in 'Breaking Training,' why couldn't it work for Jerry Jones?")

Wade Phillips said he should be blamed for the Lions racking up 152 rushing yards, almost twice their league-low average entering the game.

"It's my fault," Phillips said, noting that he prepared the Cowboys to face a three-wide, air-it-out offense and was surprised to see the Lions line up in a two-back or two-TE set so often.

But Phillips insisted that the Cowboys' run defense really wasn't as bad as the statistics indicated. He mentioned that the Lions ran for 89 yards on 28 carries (3.2 yards per carry) after the first series.

Well, as Todd Archer writes, Wade Phillips ought to at least be in the Coach of the Year conversation.

Right now, he's an afterthought, with New England's Bill Belichick, Cleveland's Romeo Crennel and Green Bay's Mike McCarthy considered the primary candidates for the honor.

Phillips inherited a team from a surefire Hall of Famer and significantly improved it. Seems like that should get him some national love, especially since the Cowboys were considered a 10-win wild-card team by most entering the season.

What if the Cowboys set the team record for wins in a season under Bill Parcells? I guarantee you his East Coast media pals would be campaigning for him to win Coach of the Year.

Bradie James and Terence Newman have let it be known that they're seeking revenge against Jon Kitna. Newman even said that he had to cash to cover whatever fines come his way if he gets a shot at Kitna.

But Wade Phillips said there's no need to talk to his team about not doing anything stupid Sunday. He's not worried about the Cowboys letting their emotions get the best of them.

"They signed the paper," Phillips said, referring to the no-personal foul agreement the Cowboys signed after the win in New York. "They can hit him all they want during the play."

LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN

Wade Phillips said he doesn't know whether bulletin-board material helps or not.

"It's up there, though," Phillips said with a wry smile, referring to Jon Kitna mouthing off after the Lions' win at Texas Stadium last season.

Judging by the smoke coming out of LB Bradie James' ears, this particular bulletin-board material is serving its purpose. Kitna was particularly harsh on No. 56, whose ability and football intelligence were questioned by the Lions QB.

"We've got a lot more to play for," James said, "but I've never heard a quarterback saying some mess like that at the end of the game -- after the game was over with. He didn't say nothing before the game, then all of a sudden, we hear him saying something.

"He talked about just about everybody on the defense and singled me out. I'll be ready. I'm looking forward to it."

James has no plans to chat with Kitna before the game, but he did request that we pass along a message to the "classless" QB. He vowed to be Kitna's worst nightmare come Sunday.

"I don't know him and don't want to know him, but he’s going to get to know me," James said. "I'm going to talk it before and back it up."