Phillips out of the loop
At the opposite end of the spectrum from Kiffin is Cowboys coach Wade Phillips. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett had his salary (or ransom) bumped to $3 million to get him to stay in Dallas – the same figure Phillips reportedly makes. Meanwhile, owner Jerry Jones is in hot pursuit of a deal for Pacman Jones – precisely the wrong player to add to a team with a lame duck coach. So the writing's on the wall in Dallas, just as it is in Oakland. Only Phillips can't seem to decipher it.

Asked about Garrett's being called the Cowboys head-coach-in-waiting, Phillips answered, "I'm happy for him. I was an assistant coach for a lot of my career too. It makes you feel good as an assistant. I know how Jason feels. It makes you feel good as an assistant coach that people want you, which we do and we feel good about what he does. It's great to keep him. I said before I was all for it. I didn't know it was going to happen, because I thought he might get a head coaching job. We're glad to have him back. The key thing for us again was keeping the coordinators, where we can do the same thing, especially with our quarterback. The year before he was 6-5. Last year he was 13-4. If we can keep that going, keep that same coordinator, the things that we're doing and the way we coach him the same, I think it will help us and that's what we did.”

Asked how much input he's had in dealing with trade talks with the Titans about Jones, Phillips began his answer saying, "Me? Not a whole lot."

Classic.

News and notes

• While the Raiders' Kiffin lavished praise on the work ethic shown by quarterback JaMarcus Russell so far, saying Russell's been at the facility for three weeks, another league source said Oakland had a hard time even finding Russell after the season ended.
• Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, who now runs an eponymous consulting firm, spoke to NFL coaches on Monday on how to more effectively do their jobs. One point Fleischer made was that, in terms of media scrutiny, head coaches have positions similar to the president. There's a daily media horde that demands immediacy and any press conference can potentially yield an uncomfortable moment that gets played and replayed for days. Fleischer was at the back of the hall for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's press conference. I entered late after talking in the hall to one of the owners and, recognizing Fleischer but not realizing who he was, I leaned over and whispered, "Did he get any Pacman questions yet?" Fleischer gave a knowing affirmative nod.
• In that same Goodell press conference, the commish said the owners have a unified front and all CBA-related issues are between the owners and the NFLPA. Dubious. How many teams out there other than the Cowboys can afford to spend $3 million on an offensive coordinator? You think that flies in Buffalo, Jacksonville or Cincinnati?
• Monday night, there was a lavish but relaxed cocktail party out by the pools at The Breakers. It came as a surprise to many that, at one table, Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy and Herman Edwards shared at least a half-hour together.

• At the NFC breakfast, Eagles coach Andy Reid was asked why there's been so much conversation about deals for Donovan McNabb from everyone but him. "You can go talk to the other tables. I'm not trying to trade him. That might be the reason."

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