In a move that surprised few, the Dallas Cowboys fired Brian Stewart today. If Jerry Jones continues to follow the my-team-is-in-a-death-spiral playbook and lets Jason Garrett walk out the door, Wade Phillips is likely safe for at least one more season.
Stewart was far from one of the core problems at Dallas. His unit was eighth in total defense, and led the league in sacks. He was, however, quite publicly stripped of his play calling duties after the 34-14 loss to the Rams this season.
While the play calling by Wade Phillips did seem to improve the Cowboys defense, that all came crashing down in the Philadelphia Eagles game that ended the Cowboys’ season. I wonder how Phillips will deflect responsibility for that one.
The reality is that once Stewart lost his play-calling responsibilities, his days in Dallas were numbered. While he was still involved in the defensive scheming, he was coordinator in name only. I’m somewhat surprised he didn’t resign on his own after (or even during) the season.
Stewart is a solid assistant, and won’t be looking for work long. With a quality head coach, he may still turn out to be a good coordinator.