IRVING, Texas — Wade Phillips, the head coach with the highest winning percentage in Dallas Cowboys history, has some job security.

Owner/general manager Jerry Jones announced Thursday that Phillips’ contract has been extended through the 2011 season. The Cowboys, who declined to reveal the financial terms of the deal, gave Phillips a guaranteed two-year deal instead of picking up his contract option for 2010.

“I’m encouraged by the progress that we made this year, but in no way are we satisfied,” Jones said. “This contract represents that. Two years in the NFL is an eternity, but it has to be urgent.”

The Cowboys are 33-15 in three regular seasons under Phillips. New England’s Bill Belichick is the only NFL coach with more wins during that span.

Dallas is 1-2 in the playoffs under Phillips, ending a franchise-record postseason win drought that dated to the 1996 season with their 34-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round.

This is the first time Phillips has survived beyond three seasons in one stint as a head coach. He was fired in favor of Mike Shanahan after going 16-16 in two seasons with the Denver Broncos. He had a 29-19 record in three seasons as the Buffalo Bills’ head coach. Phillips did not win a playoff game in either of his previous stops as a head coach.

WINTER CHILL

Wade Phillips is the second-winningest regular-season coach since 2007, behind only Bill Belichick:

Coach W-L Pct.

Bill Belichick, NE 37-11 .771
Wade Phillips, DAL 33-15 .688
Norv Turner, SD 32-16 .667
Jeff Fisher, TEN 31-17 .646
Mike Tomlin, PIT 31-17 .646

But when the weather turns cold, so do Phillips’ teams:
Coach Playoff W-L Pct.
Jim Mora 0-6 .000
Wade Phillips 1-5 .167
Jack Pardee 1-5 .167
Sid Gillman 1-5 .167
Wayne Fontes 1-4 .200
Steve Owen 2-8 .200

Jones fielded questions about Phillips’ job status on a weekly basis during the second half of the season. Jones started strongly hinting that Phillips would return after the Cowboys’ Dec. 19 win over the previously undefeated New Orleans Saints. However, Jones never publicly committed to retaining his head coach until a Tuesday interview with ESPN, when he added that negotiations were under way to work out details beyond the option year.

“That isn’t my goal. That isn’t our goal,” said Phillips, who also served as defensive coordinator of a unit that allowed the fewest points in the NFC this season. “Our goal is to win the world championship. That’s what I’m going to try to get done. I think we have a team that can go forward and do that.”

It was initially reported Thursday on ESPN.com and earlier this week on the Cowboys’ official Web site that the contract would take Phillips through the 2012 season. But ESPN.com has learned that due to a last-minute change, the finalized extension ended with the 2011 season.

Jones has stressed the need for continuity on the coaching staff since December 2008, when he opted not to fire Phillips despite a disappointing 9-7 season that ended with a 44-6 loss to the Eagles with a playoff berth at stake.

That’s a significant shift in philosophy from an owner who fired Tom Landry, who coached the Cowboys for the franchise’s first 29 years, and has employed six head coaches. Jones, who parted ways with Jimmy Johnson after back-to-back Super Bowl championships, cites firing new Buffalo coach Chan Gailey after two seasons as one of his biggest regrets.

Jones noted that if Phillips finishes this deal, he would be tied with Johnson for the longest head-coaching tenure under his ownership. Jones also said, based on Phillips’ recommendations, that all the assistant coaches would also be offered contract extensions.

“It does address continuity, but addresses it in a way that does not have any comfort zone about it,” Jones said. “It addresses the urgency of where we want to go from here.”

Jones confirms Phillips will return
By Calvin Watkins, ESPNDallas.com

ARLINGTON, Texas — Not only is head coach Wade Phillips returning for the 2010 season, he might be with the Dallas Cowboys even longer.

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones told ESPN that he’s working on a contract extension for Phillips. The team has already decided to pick up Phillips’ team-option for 2010, but Jones wants the coach back for 2011 as well.

“I’m certainly interested in Wade being back, and everything is a go,” Jones said Tuesday. “We had a long visit about that and all matters of our team [Monday]. We’ll have a couple more meetings before we meet with our media.”

Jones has been consistent in saying he values what Phillips has done for the team this season, especially the defense. Yet he didn’t make any announcements regarding a contract extension until Tuesday.

“We’ve got to work out the details of what we want to do besides the option, but I want him back,” Jones said on ESPNEWS. “I said that early in the season before we got on the run that we got on at the end.”

Phillips was unavailable for comment. His agent, Gary O’Hagan, declined comment when asked about his clients contract status.

The Cowboys’ official Web site had a story saying that Phillips would receive a three-year extension, but Cowboys spokesman Rich Dalrymple said the story was incorrect, would be taken down and that nothing long term has been decided.

I know, I know…I was one who said they HAD to win at least one playoff game for Coach Wade to return.

But, after listening to Jerry Jones’ comments at the end of the season, I think a loss last week to Philadelphia wouldn’t have mattered.

No question, Jerry & Company (including all Cowboys players, fans, and anyone else associated with the star) wanted, needed, and almost had to have the 13-year playoff drought ended—but Jerry is just comfortable with Wade, Wade wins—and although up until last week that didn’t include any playoff games, he has given this franchise stability in a different way.

Bill Parcells gave Jerry & Company stability by cleansing the franchise and organization and cutting the fat—not much different in how Jerry & Jimmy did that when they arrived in 1989.

Coach Wade gives Dallas stability in wins-and-losses, and the post-season success is all about knocking on the door, being patient, but continually pounding on the post-season opportunities.

There was a time when being in the playoffs was an absolute given under the great Tom Landry. That hasn’t been the case over the last decade or two.

Wade gives Dallas stability in the win-and-loss column.

Here’s a good article about Wade’s future with the franchise:

Coach Wade Will Be Back

David Smoak

IRVING, Texas — Dallas Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones gave coach Wade Phillips more support for a return in the 2010 season Wednesday.

Phillips is in the last year of his contract, which includes a team option for next year that has yet to be picked up.

With the Cowboys having already clinched a playoff spot with last Sunday’s victory over Washington, there was thought Phillips might need to win in the postseason to get that extension.

“That’s too succinct,” Jones said before Wednesday’s practice at Valley Ranch. “Especially since the best thing to do for the future for us other than to get to the Super Bowl is not have any coaching changes. That’s the best thing to do.”

Phillips is 32-16 in three seasons with the Cowboys, but he’s failed to win a playoff game in his coaching career (0-4). In three head coaching jobs, Phillips has finished with at least a .500 record or better.

Phillips also has struggled in December/January (15-18), but has built a two-game winning streak this month with the Cowboys. The Cowboys play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday with the NFC East title on the line.

Phillips’ calm demeanor and one-game-at-a-time theme has rubbed off on the players and pushed this team into the playoffs for the second time in his three seasons.

“The way you minimize [a firing] to some degree: a result … a score,” Jones said. “It’s a broader picture for me than that, and I’m really proud of him.”

Another key for Jones is Phillips’ prowess with the defense.

Under Phillips, the Cowboys have seen improved development of young players such as outside linebacker Anthony Spencer, cornerback Mike Jenkins and nose tackle Jay Ratliff improve.

Ratliff was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl on Tuesday night. Jenkins leads the team with five interceptions, and Spencer has been a strong complement to outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware. Spencer has just four sacks, but is second on the team with 34 quarterback pressures.

Overall, the Cowboys have the No. 12 defense in the league and are fifth against the run.

“There is no question that if you had to pick the most valuable player on defense right now, it needs to be Wade Phillips,” Jones said. “There is no question about that. It’s a team thing over there. … He should be recognized and is being recognized for that, I think.”

Phillips has said in the past he can’t control his job status even if he wins because of previous firings in Buffalo and Denver, where he thought he did a good job.

“I think he’s as tough as a boot,” Jones said. “You see how he has handled his criticism. You see frankly that he’s never had a honeymoon since he’s been here, and he’s handled it well. The players see that. I see that.”

LANDOVER, Md. — Sunday morning at the team hotel, Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips had a simple message for his team:

“You’re playing for the world championship today, men,” Phillips told his players. “I hope you know that. I know that.”

With that, Phillips walked out of the meeting.

His players responded Sunday night by knocking off the inept Washington Redskins 17-0 at FedEx Field.

“He just had his points that he wanted to make,” Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said. “He has a lot of creditability with our team, and I want our fans to know that.”

The victory clinched a playoff berth for the Cowboys, who will have even more to play for next week.

If Dallas beats the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon at Cowboys Stadium, it will win the NFC East and secure a first-round home playoff game.

Should the Minnesota Vikings lose their next two games to go along with a Dallas win, the Cowboys will vault to the No. 2 seed.

And to think people wanted to kick Phillips out of town just a few weeks ago.

Phillips has his team buying into his one-week-at-a-time mantra, and Jones wants to keep him around long-term.

“I do not want to make a coaching change,” Jones said after the win over the Redskins.

This might be a good thing for the Cowboys. After four years of Bill Parcells’ grinding style, Phillips arrived with his own approach.

He will protect players in public but chew them out behind closed doors for mistakes. The only real public display of anger we’ve seen from Phillips came in his first year with the Cowboys, when he yelled at the team because a few players were late for a special teams walk-through.

Phillips is not one to air his dirty laundry in public. He doesn’t send messages to players through the media. If he has a message to deliver, he’ll find the player and tell him himself.

Phillips, however, is defensive about his December record — which is now 5-7 in Dallas — and he presents his case to reporters who question whether he’s a winner.

Phillips has told his team the entire year that they are in fact a bunch of winners, and if nobody believed them, forget them. The message on Sunday morning was another example of Phillips telling his players to consider what they can accomplish and not lose sight of the goal.

Guard Leonard Davis said he’s never had a coach tell him a regular-season game was like a championship game, but he got the message.

“I didn’t question it,” he said. “It’s been that way the whole time.”

Tight end Jason Witten said Phillips has been making his moves toward a moment like this all year.

“He just meant you have to take it one game at a time, and he has the ability to put it out there and let us know where we’re at and what we’re playing for,” Witten said. “He’s always built it up. The later you go [in the season], the game gets bigger. He does a good job of being that same guy and [putting] some perspective on it.”

The man who signs the checks in Valley Ranch was so happy about Phillips and his staff that he turned away from reporters when he saw offensive line coach Hudson Houck.

“Hey Hud, good win,” Jones said.

“Damn good win,” Houck said.

With that, Jones kissed Houck on the forehead.

Imagine what Jones will do if he wins the NFC East title.

Calvin Watkins, ESPNDallas.com

The status for Cowboys LB Demarcus Ware remains uncertain.

Ware was not at practice on Tuesday, and the team will continue to monitor him day-to-day.

TE Martellus Bennett also missed practice and will not play this week, but if he practices on Wednesday he could be cleared for the game at Washington.

Safety Ken Hamlin took some reps on Tuesday and should be cleared to play against New Orleans. Hamlin has been out with a high-ankle sprain.

There was a “kick off” between Nick Folk and David Buehler that didn’t produce much stability either way.

Head coach Wade Phillips said he thinks Folk can “come out of his slump,” and the competition might help do that, Phillips added, “I’d presume he will remain our kicker against New Orleans….there aren’t a lot of people out there and those that are have been in bigger slumps than this one.”

Calvin Watkins, ESPNDallas.com

ARLINGTON, Texas — Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said if coach Wade Phillips can get his team through this difficult December stretch with a solid playoff seeding, it will enhance the likelihood of his return in 2010.

Phillips is in the final year of a three-year contract but the team has an option for next year.

“I don’t know that it’s anymore so for Wade than it is for anybody else on this team,” Jones said regarding pressure on his coach prior to Cowboys practice Wednesday. “… But what we do here and how we get into these playoffs … have a game [at home], get a bye. All of those are things that look good for Wade.”

The Cowboys (8-3) hold a one-game lead in the NFC East over Philadelphia heading into Sunday’s game at the New York Giants.

Should the Cowboys finish strong — the team hasn’t had a winning record in December or January since 1996 — Phillips’ job status would improve. Of course, a playoff win would also help Phillips’ cause.

Jones normally doesn’t speak about coaches’ contracts, but Wednesday was the first time he gave a firm answer as to what Phillips has to do to remain in his position.

In mid-November, on his twice-a-week radio show, Jones said he was pleased with how his coach was doing.

“Since there’s been absolutely nothing in my mind but the fact that I have an option for him next year, that’s as far as we need to go,” Jones said. “… It wouldn’t benefit our fans at all for me to discuss Wade Phillips’ status for next year.”

Calvin Watkins covers the Cowboys for ESPNDallas.com.

Dallas Cowboys’ dreams rest on Phillips, Garrett, Romo
Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News

You will find out everything you need to know about Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett and Tony Romo during the next three weeks.

At New York. San Diego. At New Orleans.

It’s time for the Cowboys’ triumvirate to show us they can make Dallas an elite team again.

Phillips has a .580 winning percentage and one losing season in eight seasons as a head coach. Still, last December, he presided over the most gutless performance in franchise history against Philadelphia. He was also in charge of the 2007 team that became the first No. 1 seed in the NFC to lose in the divisional round since the postseason expanded in 1990.

Did I mention that team had a record 12 Pro Bowl players?

Phillips gained some trust with last month’s road win over the Eagles, and he will gain more with a win over the Giants on Sunday. Get the Cowboys mentally and physically prepared this week, and it bodes well for Phillips getting Dallas prepared to end its wretched 12-year stretch without a playoff win.

Garrett, once the NFL’s hottest assistant coach, faces a different kind of pressure as he tries to remain relevant.

Too many times this season, the offense has been all or nothing as he tries to find the right balance between running and passing.

Yes, the Cowboys have some gaudy offensive numbers, but they’re averaging only 23.2 points. Thirteen teams average more.

Clearly, there’s a disconnect.

All you need to know is Garrett must figure out a way to effectively get the ball to Miles Austin and Felix Jones over the next three weeks because those are his two biggest playmakers.

To do so, Garrett must be at his creative best. Motion. Shifting. Play selection. Whatever it takes to make Jones and Austin the epicenter of the offense, Garrett needs to make it happen.

Romo also needs to make it happen.

There’s no better place to end his national reputation as a big-game choker and improve his 5-8 December record than with a superb performance in the nation’s largest media market.

Romo, playing some of the best football of his career, has only four interceptions in the last nine games. He’s making plays to win games instead of lose them.

Still, he needs a signature win in December. For now, beating New York would provide that.

No one is saying the Cowboys need to sweep the next three games because that’s not happening after what New Orleans did to New England, but the Cowboys can certainly win the next two games.

For us to view them as serious contenders in the NFC, they must.

Uh huh. That’s right.

There’s no reason the Cowboys shouldn’t go to Giants Stadium and end New York’s season. The Giants, losers of five of six games, are waiting to be put out of their misery.

Seriously.

Eli Manning’s foot injury has compromised him. Their front seven no longer dominates. And Brandon Jacobs is just a loudmouth instead of the NFL’s most punishing runner.

It won’t be easy. Nothing worth having ever is, but a loss drops the Giants three games behind Dallas with four to play. That’s why New York will play with desperation.

Win this game and the Cowboys won’t have to spend the next week talking about their awful record in December. Fans won’t be saying, “Here we go again.” And Romo and Phillips won’t have to answer tough questions about their inability to perform in football’s toughest month.

This team has a good vibe to it. Listen to the players, and they all seem to be embracing the moment. They’re not running from their failures in December as they’ve done in the past, they’re confronting it.

This is good.

For the first time in years, the Cowboys seem ready to play their best football when it matters most.

Phillips, Garrett and Romo must lead the way.

The following is an article from espndallas.com. With the Cowboys being 6-3 and leading the NFC East by a game over Philly and the NYG, are you confident that Wade Phillips will return after the 2009 season? If yes, why, and if not—why not?

And, I guess the obvious question is what does Phillips need to accomplish this season to satisfy whether you bring him back for the option year or extend his contract?

David Smoak

—–

Phillips not worried about contract
By Calvin Watkins, ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas — Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said he isn’t worry about his job security because it’s something he can’t control. Phillips is in the last year of his contract but the team has an option for the 2010 season, something owner Jerry Jones hasn’t committed to.

“That will come or it won’t, those are the things later on that I don’t think about,” Phillips said. “I don’t even worry about it now. I was pretty happy in San Diego when we were 14-2 and then I got this job and it’s even better. I’m enjoying it.”

As coach, Phillips is 76-52 including interim spots in New Orleans and Atlanta. He is 0-4 in the postseason, however.

Phillips understands the business. In three seasons with Buffalo, Phillips went 29-19 and was fired. It wasn’t a surprise to him because his father, Bum, was fired as coach of the Houston Oilers after going 32-16 in his final three seasons as coach. Wade Phillips said he doesn’t coach like he’s under pressure to win because of these experiences.

“That’s the way I coach, that’s the way I’ve always coached,” he said. “Way back when we went 10-6, 10-6, 11-5 and two AFC championship games and we got fired I realized that, hey you can do a great job and for whatever [reason] you can be gone. I stopped worrying about all that and worried about coaching and trying to do the best I can to help the team win and that’s all I think about.”

Minnesota coach Brad Childress, with one year left on his contact, received a three-year extension Thursday.

Phillips, with his team at 6-3 and in sole possession of first place in the NFC East, said he doesn’t worry about what other coaches are making and how it might affect his status.

“I’m not thinking about going anywhere either,” Phillips said. “I’ve always been that way, my whole life, wherever we’ve been, I said we’re going to be here the rest of our lives. Everywhere we’ve been, my kids can tell you that. I think we’re going to stay there, but you realize in pro football how much it changes for whatever reason. It’s all kinds of reasons and it’s not necessarily how well you coach or what you do sometimes.”