Getty Former Cowboys WR Miles Austin
Three years after being passed over by the Dallas Cowboys, former wide receiver Miles Austin is now current wide receivers coach Miles Austin.
Such is the position Austin, a New Jersey native, evidently accepted with the New York Jets as part of new head coach Robert Saleh’s staff. ESPN New York’s Rich Cimini first floated the 36-year-old’s name on Friday.
“As new #Jets coach Robert Saleh assembles his staff … a name to watch for WRs coach is Miles Austin, the former #Cowboys WR. Spent the 2019 season as #49ers offensive quality-control coach. Jersey guy. Monmouth U,” Cimini tweeted.
Hours later, Austin’s college coach at Monmouth seemingly broke the news of his hiring.
The Jets, as of this writing, have yet to confirm Austin’s addition to Saleh’s assistant corps.
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Austin’s Resume
As Dallas fans know well, Austin was a two-time Pro Bowler and caught 361 passes for 5,273 yards and 37 touchdowns across a 10-year career that spanned three teams.
Austin broke into the NFL in 2006 as an undrafted free agent. He spent eight years with the Cowboys — leading the league in receiving yards (1,320) in 2009 — before defecting to the Cleveland Browns and finally, for his swan song, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Intending to break into the front-office ranks, Austin was hired by the Cowboys in 2017 to serve as a pro and college scouting intern. He pivoted to coaching in 2019, serving as an offensive quality control coach, another teeth-cutting gig, for the San Francisco 49ers.
This, after interviewing to become the Cowboys’ WRs coach in January 2018. The Cowboys opted not to hire Austin and instead bestow the job on Sanjay Lal, who was dismissed by the team this past offseason.
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Ex-Cowboys HC ‘Ready And Available’ to Return in 2021
Taking to Twitter on Friday, former Cowboys head coach and longtime defensive whiz Wade Phillips divulged his deaf-eared interest in landing a job — any job — with a team — any team — for the 2021 campaign.
“I am ready to retire from retirement! I am ready and available. Let’s win,” Phillips tweeted.
Phillips last coached in 2019 as the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator, a position he’d held since 2017. The 73-year-old was forced into an early but unofficial retirement after the Rams opted not to renew his contract last season. This prompted various social media missives regarding his unemployment and offers of his services to prospective suitors, as well as boasts of his professional accomplishments.
Phillips’ stock peaked in 2015 when, as the Denver Broncos’ DC, he took home a Super Bowl ring on top of AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year honors. He helped transform Denver’s defense from a middling unit into one of the best the sport has ever seen, doing so with uncanny player-relatability and an easy-to-digest system.
Some coaches are better cut out to be No. 2s rather than head men, and Phillips falls into this category. He went 34-22 as Dallas’ HC from 2007-2010, winning just one playoff game, and 16-16 as Denver’s HC from 1993-94. His other stints, including brief interim HC gigs, similarly resulted in little postseason success — a career 1-5 record across 12 years.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL