Well, the news isn't good out of Valley Ranch, at least it's not good for me. I've already stated that out of the choices given for a new head coach, I would choose Wade Phillips. Phillips had his interview yesterday and I was hoping that it went well. Apparently it didn't go all that well because Mac Engel reports that Norv Turner is now the leading candidate.
The San Francisco 49ers reportedly have made a substantial offer to keep Turner, the team's offensive coordinator, from even interviewing with the Cowboys. But Turner, who is in Mobile, Ala., as a coach in the Senior Bowl today, will still interview with the Cowboys and has emerged as the favorite to coach the team, according to league sources with knowledge of the situation.
That's very disappointing because Norv Turner is a great coordinator, but a wash-out at coaching in two different situations. Yes, working for Al Davis and Danny Snyder can be a challenge, but you can't use that as an excuse. He just didn't get the job done. What ails this Dallas team right now is not its offense, which piled up the points last year, but a defense that withered on the vine as the weather turned cold in December.
The pursuit and potential hiring of Norv Turner feels like a desperate attempt to recapture the faded glory of the 90's Cowboys dynasty. But seriously, the reason that team worked was Tuner was the coordinator and Jimmy Johnson was the coach. Hiring Turner now may make Jerry Jones more comfortable with his new coach than he was with Parcells, but that doesn't win ball games.
I'm not going to bash Turner, because I respect what he's done in the NFL, especially when he's been employed as a coordinator. But there's nothing I can find that helps me believe he can experience success as a head coach, and his presence here will do nothing to help the defense. If Jones does hire Turner, I can only hope and pray that we go out and get an experienced 3-4 coordinator who can whip this defense into shape. Of course, they could just handle that problem by hiring Phillips.
Here's an effort by Jim Reeves to tout the candidacy of Norv Turner. Go read it for yourself. I came away totally unconvinced and actually a little embarrassed for the poor logic in the article.