IRVING, Texas � Wade Phillips is sticking around as coach of the Dallas Cowboys for two more years.

Dallas won the NFC East for the second time in Phillips� three seasons. The team also won its first playoff game since 1996 and the first in Phillips� head coaching career. The Cowboys are 34-17 over his three seasons in charge. Only three NFL teams have won more games in that span.
�We want to build on the foundation we have put in place over the last three years,� team owner Jerry Jones said Thursday, when announcing Phillips� new two-year deal. �I want to take advantage of the continuity.�
Jones could have picked up an option for 2010 that was part of the three-year deal Phillips signed when he replaced Bill Parcells following the 2006 season. There also was speculation Phillips would get another three-year deal, but Jones said he opted instead to only go through 2011 because �two years in the NFL is an eternity.�
�There�s no comfort zone about it,� Jones said. �It addresses the urgency of where we want to go from here.�
Jones would not give any specifics about the financial terms, although he made it clear there would be a hefty bonus for reaching a Super Bowl.
�Is he being overpaid? Not one penny,� Jones said. �Is he being underpaid? Probably, for what I think he is. The bottom line is we have something that works. He has great incentive to doing what he wants to do anyway.�
Phillips had been among the league�s lowest-paid head coaches at around $3 million per season. This past year, he also took on the role of defensive coordinator, and Jones called him �the MVP of the defense.�
�The money is not the most important thing , I can tell you that,� Phillips said.
He also said he was fine with the length of the deal, which does not include an option for 2012.
�It doesn�t matter if it�s one year or 10 years,� he said. �With this team right now, I feel very comfortable. I think we can go further and we will go further.�
The Cowboys have gone a franchise-worst 14 seasons without winning or reaching a Super Bowl. Next season, the Super Bowl will be at Cowboys Stadium, and Jones has long wanted to become the first host team to play in the big game.
�I feel like we�re going to be knocking on the door,� he said.
Then a smiling Phillips jumped in with a line made famous by his dad, Bum Phillips, when he coached the Houston Oilers: �We�re going to kick that SOB in, too.�
Jones added that he expects to bring back the entire coaching staff, including three assistants whose contracts expire after this season. Among them is Phillips� son, Wes, who is in charge of offensive quality control.
�That�s what Wade wanted and that�s what we�ll do,� Jones said.
Phillips just finished his 33rd year in the NFL, 28 of them spent as either a defensive coordinator or head coach. He�s 62.
If Phillips finishes this contract, he will match Jimmy Johnson as the longest-tenured coach during Jones� ownership. Phillips already has the highest winning percentage among Cowboys coaches, topping Johnson, Tom Landry and Barry Switzer. However, he�s lumped in with Parcells, Chan Gailey and Dave Campo as Dallas coaches who haven�t won a Super Bowl.
�We�ve produced well, but that isn�t good enough,� Phillips said. �I think we have a lot better opportunity to do that now.�