Wade Phillips' job not in jeopardy

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Coach Wade Phillips' job is not in jeopardy after the Dallas Cowboys' 1-3 start, according to the franchise's top two executives.

Team executive vice president Stephen Jones told the NFL Network at the owners meetings in Chicago that Phillips' job was "absolutely" safe. Owner/general manager Jerry Jones reiterated that statement.

"I think in our organization everybody is taking responsibility, not just Wade," Stephen Jones said. "He does. He takes responsibility. The coaching staff takes responsibility. The players take it. We all take it. We're a team, we're an organization, and when we fall short we accept it as a team."

Phillips' job security has been a hot-button issue since the Cowboys missed the playoffs in 2008. Jerry Jones backed Phillips throughout the Cowboys' December downfall that year, but Jones wasn't as firm in his support last season. The Cowboys didn't commit to keeping Phillips until after the season, which came with it Dallas' second division title in three seasons and the franchise's first playoff win in 12 years.

Phillips, whose previous contract expired after last season, signed a new two-year deal in January. Jerry Jones made it clear during the news conference to announce the contract that the pressure to win remained in place for Phillips.

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Jerry Jones has repeatedly expressed confidence this season in Phillips, who has a 35-20 record during his four-season tenure in Dallas. The Cowboys have never fired a coach in the middle of the season and are not considering making Phillips the first.

But Jerry Jones, who was not available in the postgame locker room for the first time in more than a year after Sunday's home loss to the Tennessee Titans, stressed the need for the Cowboys to have an extreme sense of urgency.

"We're running out of time, even though it's early in the season," he told the NFL Network. "If we're gonna go, we've got to go now and go hard."

Tim MacMahon covers the Cowboys for ESPNDallas.com You can follow him on Twitter or leave a question for his mailbag.

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Tim MacMahon

ESPNDallas.com

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• Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
• Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
• Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM