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Wade Phillips update

There's a lot of activity going on at Valley Ranch. The media is there waiting for an official announcement. But the Cowboys won't even acknowledge they've offered anybody the job yet.

Despite a Dallas spokesman saying Thursday the job hadn't been filled, there were several reports that Phillips was to named to replace Bill Parcells, who retired Jan. 22.

"The job hasn't been offered to anyone," said Rich Dalrymple, the Cowboys director of public relations.

Dalrymple also said there were no plans yet for any announcement concerning the coaching vacancy.

When Phillips' agent, Gary O'Hagan, was reached on his cell phone Thursday morning, he told The Associated Press, "I'm tied up right now, I can't talk" and abruptly hung up.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones arrived at Valley Ranch around 9 a.m. Thursday. While getting out of his car at a back entrance to the complex, he told KTVT-TV of Dallas that he hadn't offered the job to anyone.

But Wade Phillips is at Valley Ranch now, and his daddy is coming, too.

In another sign that Wade Phillips will be named the next coach of the Dallas Cowboys, a Bum is coming to Valley Ranch.

A source said former Oilers coach Bum Phillips is en route to the Metroplex to be with his son, Wade, today at the Cowboys' headquarters. The elder Phillips currently lives in Goliad, Texas.

Phillips is expected to be named the seventh head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Nothing is expected to be formally announced until after 1 p.m.


Now the media is guessing the next chance at an announcement today is 4-5 o'clock range, just in time for the evening news broadcasts.

San Diego isn't very happy that Phillips will be leaving.

Phillips came to the Chargers in 2004, immediately effecting improvement in the defense. Many in the organization consider him one of the biggest contributors to the franchise's turnaround.

And this:

Even more frustrating to Chargers general manager A.J. Smith is that Phillips was one of the primary coaches -- maybe 'The One' -- that he viewed as a potential replacement for Schottenheimer. Smith and Phillips worked together in Buffalo, and when Smith went to San Diego, he brought Buffalo's former head coach with him.

You want to know how reporters get these scoops? Check out this Adam Schefter article.

In recent days, Cowboys players such as Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo and Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten have been highly curious about who would be their head coach. They have debated the topic poolside after wrapping up the NFC practices at the Pro Bowl.

Both players on Tuesday came to the agreement that they suspected Jones' choice would be Phillips. It just made more sense than hiring an offensive-minded coach in Norv Turner to go along with Jason Garrett, who already had been hired to have a significant hand in the Cowboys offense.

Then, Wednesday night, one of the Cowboys players emerged at the pool with the news that he had gotten a call from the Cowboys front office -- Phillips was the choice.


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