Uncle Remus Remember, under Bill Parcells, the defense wasn't bad. It was quite good. But it wasn't Super Bowl-calibre. You didn't have defensive ends flying around the edges. There wasn't bone-crunching sacks, fumbles and interceptions. The Cowboys were really solid. Not great.
Phillips was supposed to change that. Not only did all of that not happen, but things actually backfired into the complete opposite direction.
The secondary is a COMPLETE disaster. The front three are not as good as we thought. The linebackers are A) thin and B) old.
Jerry Jones made a very poignant comment following the loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Pissed, he said that Jason Garrett's position was not secure because he had as much to do with the 1-7 start as Phillips or anyone else.
Garrett's here. Everyone else ...
Ray Sherman is out. Paul Pasqualoni was hired by Connecticut to coach its team. Tight ends coach John Garrett's interviewing with Miami. O-line coach Hudson Houck's retiring and former Cowboys great Dan Campbell's interviewing there.
The Dallas Cowboys, if nothing else, will have a new look to them. Kinda.
To Pasqualoni, yes, he was dealt some bad cards and had to try to make better smelling chicken shit out of chicken shit. Still, I don't understeand what Connecticut sees in him.
Now, Jason Garrett must find a defensive coordinator. Vic Fangio and Greg Manusky were initially interviewed. Both are thought to wind up with San Francisco and San Diego, respectively.
Garrett now will supposedly interview Remus "Rob" Ryan, Rex' twin brother and Buddy's other son, for the spot along with former Cowboys great Ray Horton, the current secondary coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
If you don't know Ryan, you've more than likely seen him. He looks ridiculous. Mostly unshaven and quite obese, he sports a flowing head of grey hair. It's like a mane.
Games, however, are won by execution. Not hair.
Honestly, Ryan seems like a guy that's gotten gigs based on the reputation of his brother and his father.
His best year came in 2010 -- with Eric Mangini gone, Ryan is probably not welcome in Cleveland -- when he took a bad Browns team and had them 14th in points allowed in the league. His defense was also near the top in interceptions. Unfortunately, they were ranked 22nd in yards allowed and near the botton in sacks and forced fumbles.
Ryan spent five ignominious years in Oakland before that. And they sucked.
Maybe Ryan's numbers are the product of the team. But don't good coordinators, over time, make areas on a bad team, good?
Horton kind of rose along with Mike Tomlin in the organization. He was named defensive backs coach by Tomlin in 2007. Tomlin, of course, knows good defensive backs coach having been in Tampa Bay from 2001-2005 during their heyday.
As defensive backs coach in Pittsburgh, Horton had the best pass defense in the league in 2008. That slipped to 16th in 2009 and back up to 12th in 2010.
If I had to pick one, I'd go with Horton. He's an up and comer and, seemingly, hungry. He has something to prove. That's kinda what this team needs more than anything.
