Will he or won't he? That seems to be the speculation game this morning after the Dallas Cowboys were totally punk'd by the Green Bay Packers 45-7 on Sunday Night Football. Jerry Jones had previously reiterated that Wade Phillips would finish out the season. Last night, after he watched his once-proud franchise get pummeled, Jerry seems to have altered his tune. No longer are we getting proclamations of certainty about Wade's future.
Here's the money quote from Jerry last night, via the Dallas Morning News:
"I think there are a lot of people here that certainly are going to suffer and suffer the consequences," Jones said. "I'm talking within the team, players, coaches. They've got careers, and this is certainly a setback. I know firsthand what it is to have high expectations. I think that unquestionably our expectations were thinking we were something we weren't ... But again, we have so many things that we need to correct and address as this game so vividly exposed and previous games have. So I've got a lot of work to do, a lot of decisions to make, and it's not just one, two, three or four. There are several decisions. I think everybody in this country would agree there's a lot wrong with this team. We've got to address them and certainly I'm the one to address them."
When you read that, it's hard to believe anything other than Wade Phillips will get fired. But, Jerry Jones has been known to let his emotions speak, only to return later to his own stubbornness. Will he do that again? Will he back away from "...there are a lot of people here that certainly are going to suffer and suffer the consequences. I'm talking within the team, players, coaches"? And "So I've got a lot of work to do, a lot of decisions to make, and it's not just one, two, three or four. There are several decisions"?
If coaches are going to suffer the consequences, he couldn't get away with firing anybody unless the list starts with Wade Phillips. This just sounds like a done deal. Except we're dealing with Jerry Jones, a man who can, and often will, change his mind.
If you need any help in making the decision Jerry, consider the following. You said last night when asked about putting a finger on what is wrong with these Cowboys:
"I can't put my finger on it because I don't have enough fingers," Jones said.
You only need one finger for this Cowboys season. It's the middle one. If you don't make the changes, you're just giving us the middle finger.