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Cowboys Make me Drink
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An NFL arbitrator ruled Thursday that the Buffalo Bills must pay former coach Wade Phillips for the final year of his contract.
"Naturally, I'm disappointed in a ruling that awards money to Wade Phillips for his departure from the Bills," Bills owner Ralph Wilson said before the team's game in Jacksonville, Fla.
"Phillips claims he was fired. I reject that.
"He forced his dismissal with unreasonable behaviour."
Phillips, who had one season left on his contract, was dismissed in January for refusing to fire special teams coach Ronnie Jones, whose unit finished ranked last in the league in four categories.
After being paid for two months, Phillips received a letter from the Bills indicating they would no longer pay him and had cancelled his insurance benefits.
Phillips, who has failed to land another coaching job, was not immediately available for comment.
Coaching contracts are guaranteed in the NFL and Phillips was scheduled to make a reported $750,000 US this season.
Wilson said Phillips' refusal to fire Jones was tantamount to insubordination. Wilson then criticized the arbitrator's ruling, saying, "The league is creating a dangerous precedent when it allows the coach or player to collect money on a contract for failing to obey a reasonable order of a superior."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed that NFL-appointed arbitrator Jay Moyer ruled in Phillips' favour, but did not have any further details of the findings.
Phillips, 29-19 in his three years at Buffalo, was coming off an 8-8 season in which he missed the playoffs for the first time.
At a hearing before Moyer in May, Phillips argued that he did nothing legally or morally wrong in being dismissed.
He added that it was unheard of for a team to fail to honour a coach's contract.
Wilson said he was justified in asking Phillips to fire Jones, and assured Phillips that he and the rest of his staff would keep their jobs.
According to Wilson, Phillips threatened to resign if Jones was fired.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2001/10/18/phillips011018.html
"Naturally, I'm disappointed in a ruling that awards money to Wade Phillips for his departure from the Bills," Bills owner Ralph Wilson said before the team's game in Jacksonville, Fla.
"Phillips claims he was fired. I reject that.
"He forced his dismissal with unreasonable behaviour."
Phillips, who had one season left on his contract, was dismissed in January for refusing to fire special teams coach Ronnie Jones, whose unit finished ranked last in the league in four categories.
After being paid for two months, Phillips received a letter from the Bills indicating they would no longer pay him and had cancelled his insurance benefits.
Phillips, who has failed to land another coaching job, was not immediately available for comment.
Coaching contracts are guaranteed in the NFL and Phillips was scheduled to make a reported $750,000 US this season.
Wilson said Phillips' refusal to fire Jones was tantamount to insubordination. Wilson then criticized the arbitrator's ruling, saying, "The league is creating a dangerous precedent when it allows the coach or player to collect money on a contract for failing to obey a reasonable order of a superior."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed that NFL-appointed arbitrator Jay Moyer ruled in Phillips' favour, but did not have any further details of the findings.
Phillips, 29-19 in his three years at Buffalo, was coming off an 8-8 season in which he missed the playoffs for the first time.
At a hearing before Moyer in May, Phillips argued that he did nothing legally or morally wrong in being dismissed.
He added that it was unheard of for a team to fail to honour a coach's contract.
Wilson said he was justified in asking Phillips to fire Jones, and assured Phillips that he and the rest of his staff would keep their jobs.
According to Wilson, Phillips threatened to resign if Jones was fired.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2001/10/18/phillips011018.html
