The son a former Dallas Cowboys head coach deserves the attention of Jerry Jones and America's Team
The bottom line is the Dallas Cowboys have no head coach under contract for the 2025 NFL season. Until the team agrees to an extension with Mike McCarthy or decides to part ways with the former Super Bowl winner, all options are on the table, which is evident thanks to the fact that they've reportedly […]
The bottom line is the Dallas Cowboys have no head coach under contract for the 2025 NFL season. Until the team agrees to an extension with Mike McCarthy or decides to part ways with the former Super Bowl winner, all options are on the table, which is evident thanks to the fact that they've reportedly done homework on other candidates for the job.
The question is who will end up wearing the headset for America's Team? There have been plenty of options suggested, ranging from experienced head coaches to offensive gurus in the come up all the way to former Cowboys players.
But what about the son of former Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips and grandson of Bum Phillips? I'm talking about the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator, Wes Phillips.
In a recent article diving into candidates who could attract the front office, I included Wes for a very specific reason: The Cowboys are familiar with him. If you don't have previous head coaching experience, that's your best shot at getting the job in Dallas.
Wes began his NFL coaching career as a quality control coach in 2007 before becoming the assistant OL coach in 2011, surviving the transition from Wade to Jason Garrett. He was promoted to tight ends coach in 2013.
Later, he landed in Washington in 2014, where Kyle Shanahan had just left his influence after four years in the form of offensive coordinator Sean McVay, with whom Wes worked for until 2018, when he followed McVay to the Los Angeles Rams as tight ends coach and in 2021 worked as the passing game coordinator in the L.A.'s Super Bowl winning year.
Should the Cowboys consider Phillips, they'd be looking into potentially the best of both worlds: Someone they're familiar with and someone who's been involved in the Shanahan/McVay coaching tree going back to 2014.
Interestingly enough, Phillips is still working on a similar scheme under Kevin O'Connell in the Minnesota Vikings. However, the offensive coordinator doesn't call plays and as such I reached out to A to Z Sports' Tyler Forness for more info on Wes. Let's dive into his insight.
Teams have been loving the Shanahan/McVay coaching tree for a long time but Wes Phillips isn't the play caller for the Vikings. What are his biggest strengths and what does he focus on in Minnesota behind Kevin O'Connell?
Forness: It's always hard to discern what a coordinator does that doesn't call plays. That is no different with Phillips. His responsibilities seem to be similar to what O'Connell's were in Los Angeles: Game planning and in-game organization. One of the things that's been great for the Vikings is moving Phillips to the sidelines. They were getting way too many pre-snap penalties and bringing Phillips down on the field has essentially solved that.
Speaking of O'Connell, what sets his style of offense apart from Shanahan and McVay?
Forness: One of the things with everyone who runs a Shanahan or McVay offense is they will always have the core concepts the same. What makes O'Connell different is how he likes to attack. O'Connell loves trying to find shot plays 20+ yards down the field where Sam Darnold led the league in completions (35), yards (1,192, only QB over 1,000), yards per attempt (17.5), and completion percentage (51.5).
It's a longshot to visualize Wes as the future Dallas Cowboys head coach but quite frankly, he sounds like a candidate fans could get behind should they seek a new face to lead the franchise.
