The Dallas Cowboys fired head coach Wade Phillips on Monday after a five-game losing streak dropped them to 1-7 for the season and all but shattered their hopes of making the playoffs.
The widely anticipated move came after a 45-7 pounding by the Green Bay Packers on Sunday and less than a year after the Cowboys awarded him with a contract extension that was expected to keep him with the team through next year’s season.
“An in-season coaching change is not something I’ve done before, something I was reluctant to do as recently as last week, but I think what’s best for the organization and the fans is a coaching change,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told a news conference.
Photo: Reuters
Phillips, in his fourth season as Dallas coach, will be replaced on an interim basis by offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni will take over as defensive coordinator, a role that Phillips had also been filling.
The season has been especially disappointing since Dallas was a pre-season favorite to reach the playoffs and had hoped to become the first team to play in their home stadium in the Super Bowl.
Phillips ends his tenure in Dallas with a 35-23 record, having won two NFC East titles and taken the Cowboys to their first playoff victory since 1996.
“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 in a statement.
The Cowboys’ skid was intensified by the loss of starting quarterback Tony Romo, who suffered a broken collarbone during an Oct. 25 loss to the New York Giants.
Dallas’ defense has given up at least 35 points in each of the last three defeats.
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