Do Cowboys, Jerry Jones Want Mike Shanahan over Wade Phillips as Head Coach?

So maybe the Dallas Cowboys‘ coaching staff is not, in fact, already in place.

Many Cowboys fans, and NFL fans in general, were surprised to hear Jerry Jones profess unyielding support for Wade Phillips in the wake of another December collapse by the Dallas Cowboys.

Immediately after the Cowboys laid a monstrous and putrid rotten egg at Philadelphia in Week 17, which was made all the more egregious by stories of the Cowboys treating the plane ride home like “the last day of school”, Jerry Jones made the following comments:

“The coaches are in place. I’ve said that. How can I be any clearer?” Jones said. “Look, I’ve said that our coaching staff, as far as I’m concerned, is in place. I just want to make the statement rather than answer questions, because your questions imply certain things that I don’t want to imply.

“I’m saying that when I look at where we are coaching staff-wise and when I look at where we are personnel-wise, I see a team that is in place to compete for several years.”

A little over a week later, reports are beginning to circulate that Jerry Jones may be slowly changing his mind.

According to a report posted today by Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk, Chris Mortensen of ESPN is reporting that Jerry Jones is getting “angrier by the minute” as he reflects on the disappointing 2008 Cowboys season. And making matters worse for Wade Phillips and the current Cowboys coaching staff is that a potential Hall of Fame coach has surprisingly become available for Jerry Jones to salivate over.

Last week, the Denver Broncos fired head coach Mike Shanahan. While Shanahan presided over his own precipitous collapse this season in Denver, and has only one playoff win in the last decade, he certainly has a more impressive head coaching resume than any other available head coaching candidate.

Shanahan is 146-98 in his head coaching career, good for a .598 winning percentage. He also has two Super Bowl rings, when Denver went back-to-back behind John Elway and Terrell Davis in 1997 and 1998. By comparison, Wade Phillips is 70-49 as a head coach, and has 22 out of 32 games in Dallas. Phillips, however, has not experienced any postseason success, going 0-4 in the playoffs.

Is it any wonder why Jerry Jones may be having second thoughts about keeping Wade Phillips in place as head coach?

Part of the reason why many people speculated that Jones would keep Wade Phillips and the current coaching staff in place is the assumption, as Florio explains at PFT, that Jerry Jones is “getting stretched pretty thin as he prepares to enter a $1.1 billion stadium in a bad economy.” Hiring a coach like Bill Cowher, at probably $10 million a year, probably was not all that attractive to Jones.

However, despite his lofty credentials and experience, Mike Shanahan likely would not require a huge contract considering he is guaranteed $21 million from the Broncos over the next three years.

Florio speculates that with Jason Garrett potentially moving onto a head job somewhere else, it could be an opportune time to bring in Mike Shanahan to revamp the offense, tutor struggling QB Tony Romo, and perhaps allow Wade Phillips to move to defensive coordinator.

I don’t know how realistic it is to think that Wade Phillips would accept a demotion, but a similar situation has also been rumored in Cleveland with former head coach Romeo Crennel. Both Crennel and Phillips are renowned as “nice guys” who lack the killer instinct and toughness and be head coaches; and both are purported to not be so driven by ego and pride that a step back to defensive coordinator is out of the question.

I know this: I was surprised to hear Jerry Jones be so vehement in his support for Wade Phillips. I realize that Jerry Jones has proven to be pretty loyal over the years, and likes to give head coaches at least three years; but after the Cowboys’ collapse with such high expectations, I figured Jones would blow a gasket and want fresh leadership heading into his new stadium.

Signing a coach with the credentials and reputation of Mike Shanahan would certainly create a big splash heading into the 2009 season. Jones may be confident that he has the pieces in place to have a successful team, but he has to be questioning the coaching leadership after another late season collapse.

Right now, it appears as if Mike-Shanahan-to-the-Cowboys is merely rumor and speculation. But stay tuned; and don’t be surprised if rumor and speculation quickly turns into legitimate, potentially franchise-altering story. Jerry Jones wants to win, and he wants to win now. Is there anyone who can posit an argument that the Cowboys would not be in better hands with a proven Super Bowl champion as head coach, as opposed to a glorified defensive coordinator who calls his own training camp “Camp Cupcake?”

Stay tuned Cowboys fans. So far, the Cowboys have not been included in the myriad coaching carousel stories floating around the NFL since the end of the regular season. If Jerry Jones’ reported anger continues to grow by the minute, the Cowboys could once again be right in the middle of the action.

And Mike Shanahan could be the new target of Jerry Jones insatiable yearly urge to create a big offseason splash.

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Sunday night update: The latest is the Cowboys are very interested in Mike Shanahan, but that the most likely timetable would be 2010.