Read Sports Geek’s argument that Brad Childress is on the hot seat and Bleacher Fan’s argument that Marvin Lewis is on the hot seat .
As The Sports Debates has mentioned several times this week, we sure are ready for football to start. We’re ready for the bone crushing hits. We’re ready for pin-point passing accuracy. We’re ready for a breakway run. Heck, we’re even ready to see Ed Hochuli flex his muscles on the field. Expect to see a lot of football debates in the coming months. In fact, we might as well talk football today. It’s a favorite water cooler topic of any fan in any sport. So I ask you, which coach do you think opens the season with the most to prove? Who is on the hot seat the most?
I really like the coach I am arguing for. He seems like a good guy. He’s had to put up with a lot of crap, but unfortunately it goes with the territory. The coach who I think is on the hot seat right off the bat this training camp season is Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips.
It’s not that Phillips has been a bust in Dallas. He has posted a 22-10 record in the regular season. That would be exceptional anywhere else. Heck, he’d be in the conversation when discussing the coaches in the upper echelon of the NFL. But, he’s not coaching just any team. He’s coaching America’s Team.
Two years ago Dallas went 13-3 and had home field advantage in the playoffs. Their second round matchup was against the division rival New York Giants. The Giants won 21-17, deflating the hopes of all Cowboys fans. Much of the blame fell, unfairly, on Phillips. Forget the fact that he led the team to 13 victories. He couldn’t win in the playoffs, which is something Dallas hasn’t done since 1996. Last year, the team fell to 9-7, including a blowout loss to Philadelphia to close the season. It’s a game that put egg on the face of the entire organization for the entire off-season. It’s a game that led to Phillips’ seat getting warmer. There was even speculation that Cowboys owner (as if you didn’t know who the owner is) Jerry Jones was going to bring in Mike Shannahan. But, Phillips withstood the storm and he’s still there.
How long he’s there remains to be seen. The Cowboys are moving into a luxurious new stadium and the Cowboys need to win! Badly! Terrell Owens, the alleged cause of much of the drama last year, has packed his drama and left for Buffalo. But, he also took his big play potential with him.
The onus is on Wade Phllips to get the job done, now. Going 9-7 isn’t going to get the job, and it’s quite conceivable that just making the playoffs won’t be enough to save his job. With the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins in the division it’s going to be tough to get to the playoffs. But, that’s what it is going to take to have a chance to save his job.
No pressure Wade!
