Matt
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IRVING, Texas - First a player. Then a coach. Now a consultant?
Dan Reeves has held intermittent roles with the Dallas Cowboys since his rookie season as a running back in 1965. Forty-four years later, there appears to be a chance he'll come back - this time to help an old friend and colleague, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, ensure better results next season.
The Cowboys are not confirming reports that Reeves might take a consultant position with the team, but there is apparent interest from both sides. If Reeves returns in an advisory role, it would mark another example of the organizational changes Phillips and owner Jerry Jones foreshadowed after the season.
The Cowboys already have made three significant staff and personnel moves. They released troubled-but-talented cornerback Adam Jones, who started four games and returned kicks. They dismissed defensive coordinator Brian Stewart, who arrived with Phillips from the San Diego Chargers in 2007. And they replaced special teams coach Bruce Reid with former Jacksonville Jaguars special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, who also happens to be Reeves' son-in-law.
Reeves also has strong connections to Phillips and the Cowboys franchise. He played running back in Dallas for seven seasons (1965-72) and started coaching in 1972 as an offensive assistant to Tom Landry. In 1981, he became the NFL's youngest head coach and eventually appeared in four Super Bowls - three with the Denver Broncos and one with the Atlanta Falcons.
Reeves has worked with Phillips on two occasions. Phillips served as Reeves' defensive coordinator in Denver (1989-92) and Atlanta (2002-03) and later succeeded him in both places.
Reeves has not held an NFL post since stepping down as the Falcons' head coach in 2003. Phillips, meanwhile, moved on to San Diego and then Dallas, where the Cowboys won a franchise record-tying 13 games in his first year as head coach.
But despite championship aspirations and expectations, the Cowboys finished 9-7 and failed to reach the playoffs this season. Following their season-ending loss to Philadelphia in late December, Phillips vowed change in his team's preparation and execution.
Phillips said he would seek advice from former coaching peers, including Reeves, about how to adjust his own approach.
"I've been with some top coaches that I think I can draw from that did things a little bit different than what I do," Phillips said then. "And I think some of those things are good ideas. Some of them aren't. I've been with Marv Levy, Marty Schottenheimer, Dan Reeves, and some of those people I will talk with and see if I can get things better."
Now Reeves could be a full-time sounding board.
Reeves seems to have regained an itch for returning to the NFL. He interviewed for the San Francisco 49ers' offensive coordinator vacancy last week but reportedly told the 49ers he was interested in joining the Cowboys as a consultant.
Asked earlier this month (KTBB-AM in Tyler, Texas) if he could work for Jones in Dallas, Reeves said, "Oh gosh, I can work for anybody. I think you can work with anybody if you get people to work together. That's the thing, you've got to be able to work together. If you've got people going in different directions, then you've got no chance."
Dan Reeves has held intermittent roles with the Dallas Cowboys since his rookie season as a running back in 1965. Forty-four years later, there appears to be a chance he'll come back - this time to help an old friend and colleague, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, ensure better results next season.
The Cowboys are not confirming reports that Reeves might take a consultant position with the team, but there is apparent interest from both sides. If Reeves returns in an advisory role, it would mark another example of the organizational changes Phillips and owner Jerry Jones foreshadowed after the season.
The Cowboys already have made three significant staff and personnel moves. They released troubled-but-talented cornerback Adam Jones, who started four games and returned kicks. They dismissed defensive coordinator Brian Stewart, who arrived with Phillips from the San Diego Chargers in 2007. And they replaced special teams coach Bruce Reid with former Jacksonville Jaguars special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, who also happens to be Reeves' son-in-law.
Reeves also has strong connections to Phillips and the Cowboys franchise. He played running back in Dallas for seven seasons (1965-72) and started coaching in 1972 as an offensive assistant to Tom Landry. In 1981, he became the NFL's youngest head coach and eventually appeared in four Super Bowls - three with the Denver Broncos and one with the Atlanta Falcons.
Reeves has worked with Phillips on two occasions. Phillips served as Reeves' defensive coordinator in Denver (1989-92) and Atlanta (2002-03) and later succeeded him in both places.
Reeves has not held an NFL post since stepping down as the Falcons' head coach in 2003. Phillips, meanwhile, moved on to San Diego and then Dallas, where the Cowboys won a franchise record-tying 13 games in his first year as head coach.
But despite championship aspirations and expectations, the Cowboys finished 9-7 and failed to reach the playoffs this season. Following their season-ending loss to Philadelphia in late December, Phillips vowed change in his team's preparation and execution.
Phillips said he would seek advice from former coaching peers, including Reeves, about how to adjust his own approach.
"I've been with some top coaches that I think I can draw from that did things a little bit different than what I do," Phillips said then. "And I think some of those things are good ideas. Some of them aren't. I've been with Marv Levy, Marty Schottenheimer, Dan Reeves, and some of those people I will talk with and see if I can get things better."
Now Reeves could be a full-time sounding board.
Reeves seems to have regained an itch for returning to the NFL. He interviewed for the San Francisco 49ers' offensive coordinator vacancy last week but reportedly told the 49ers he was interested in joining the Cowboys as a consultant.
Asked earlier this month (KTBB-AM in Tyler, Texas) if he could work for Jones in Dallas, Reeves said, "Oh gosh, I can work for anybody. I think you can work with anybody if you get people to work together. That's the thing, you've got to be able to work together. If you've got people going in different directions, then you've got no chance."
