Will Wade Phillips be fired at the end of the season?

Okay, okay, you might be thinking I'm crazy for even bringing up the idea. But hey, there's a Fire Wade Phillips site, so why not discuss it.

First off, Wade Phillips is excellent on defense. He's smart as a whip. Let's be honest though, Phillips didn't really seem like the right hire for the Cowboys. He's had mediocre success as a head coach. In fact, Phillips has lost all four playoff games in which he's coached (Broncos, Bills twice and Cowboys last season).

Does he really have control of this team? He doesn't seem to be having much luck. The other day, Dallas Morning News columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor seemed to think Phillips didn't have control of the team. Taylor thinks Phillips doesn't have control of his team. This is what he said in his column last Saturday:

Phillips won't agree, but that's too bad. It's the truth. All you have to do is look at this dysfunctional team and how it has played all season to see that.

Then again, it's hard to have control of the team, especially when your boss is Jerry Jones. Jones is very much a hands on type of guy, ask Jimmy Johnson.

Let's say the Cowboys don't make the playoffs and Jones does fire Phillips. Who is the likely replacement as head coach?

If the job goes to anybody inside the organization, the first choice is Jason Garrett. Some think the struggles on the offense is credited to Garrett. Sure the offense isn't scoring points, but it's still among the better in the NFL. Plus, Tony Romo is healthy. Garrett is a sexy choice for a lot of teams looking for a young head coach. He could very well be a coaching candidate in Cleveland or KC.

A friend told me that Mike Holmgren's name has been mentioned as a potential candidate. Sure enough, ESPN's Chris Mortensen mentioned it on Countdown on Sunday. Holmgren seems like an odd choice for Dallas, given his history against the Cowboys. However, it is certainly not out of the possibility for Holmgren to coach in Dallas.

The one name I think could be a dark horse is Saints coach Sean Payton. Yes he has a Fire Sean Payton site, but the administrators fired themselves.

Payton was an assistant under Bill Parcells in Dallas. He was also an assistant under Jim Fassel in New York. Payton knows the lay of the land in the NFC East. However, in three seasons as the Saints coach, he's 4-3 (including playoffs) against the NFC East.

I say he's a dark horse, because well it seems unlikely. This is Jerry Jones we are dealing with here, so who knows what we can expect. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he had Phillips come back another season.

Payton is in no danger of losing his job in New Orleans. The man is beloved and there would be a lot of upset fans if he left.