Jerry Jones Talks About Wade Phillips Firing At Press Conference

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a press conference Monday that he was in disbelief over how poorly his team was performing prior to watching the Cowboys get thrashed 45-7 to the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field on Sunday night.

In his comments to the media from the Cowboys’ Valley Ranch headquarters, Jones expressed disappointment at the current state of the team, but maintained that firing coach Wade Phillips was not a tacit admission of resignation and that he expects the team to continue trying to win through the remainder of the season.

”Obviously this is a very difficult decision for me, our team, our organization. We’re clearly not where we want to be. That’s an understatement. We also share the responsibility in that, all of us. An in-season coaching change is something that I have not done before, something that I was reluctant to consider as late as ... Saturday night. ... There was a lot of me in denial. ... But at this time, what’s in the best interest of the organization and the fans is a coaching change.

“I recently addressed the team. I told them that they should not think for even a second that this is in any way an admission of defeat or finality for this season ... that the evaluation process will begin with finding the guys that play the hardest. I told ‘em we were looking for players that want to win the most. ... We are not recognizing the need to play in a winning way.”

Jones praised new interim head coach Jason Garrett for his potential to effect a cultural change in the Dallas organization, something the outgoing Phillips was never able to do.

“I do believe that Jason has the disposition ... to affect [sic] a culture change. His style is one that I think can be real effective. Culture change does work. I think this gives us a chance to do it from within. If we do outstanding as a team and have very visible, very tangible success then that’s certainly doing your job in a crisis situation. That kind of action goes beyond a resume. Jason has some qualities of leadership, some qualities of organization. He’s very smart. He’s got some qualities that can get us where we want to go.”