...will be installing Wade Phillips as their new head coach.
Bad move.
Phillips, lest we forget, was the head coach of the Bills for several seasons. During that period, he played a major part in creating a quarterback controversy that ruptured team unity and divided fan loyalties. After initially installing Rob Johnson as the starter, Phillips made Doug Flutie the starter after Johnson was injured and Flutie showed that he could win games under center. The following season, the Bills held a competition between the quarterbacks. Johnson was installed as the starter (youth and his large $$$ contract may have had something to do with it - it could not have been based on his poor body of work in actual games), and proceeded to demonstrate that a good arm and athletic ability are of limited use if you have no pocket presence and no survival skills.
Despite the visual evidence every weekend that Johnson could not even lead the team to the restroom, much less down the field, the Bills persisted in starting him. This was badly handled by Phillips, who seemed to be unwilling or unable to stamp his authority on the team. The result was massive under-achievement by the Bills, the departure of Flutie to San Diego, followed (surprise, surprise) by the dumping of Johnson and his eventual replacement by Drew Bledsoe.
Everything I have seen and heard about Phillips suggests that he is not a head coach; his current co-ordinator role is perfectly suited for him. Which probably explains why he is about to be announced as the new head coach of the Cowboys, since Jerry Jones appears to be about to revert to his preferred role as the behind-the-scenes head coach. He is going back to the model followed after the departure of Jimmy Johnson, when he appointed coaches such as Barry Switzer and Chan Gailey. None of those coaches had the authority and ability to be true leaders, which is what Jones wants. If the rumors are true, Norv Turner has been passed over because he told Jones that he thinks that Jason Garrett is not ready to be an offensive co-ordinator. In other words, Norv will not meekly do Jerry's bidding, whereas Wade Phillips will. If Wade Phillips could not resolve the Doug Flutie - Rob Johnson situation, what hope does he have of keeping Terrell Owens in line?
Jerry Jones has been dining out for 15 years on his one great decision - the hiring of Jimmy Johnson. He uses it as the means of justifying an unhealthy level of personal hubris when it comes to managing the Cowboys. It is my belief that this approach will doom the Cowboys to mediocre on-field performance in the next few years.