SPORTSDAY

My apologies for misinterpreting mushmouth Albert "Einstein" Breer this morning. I wrongly assumed he was giving me some news.

But now that we've established that Darren McFadden may or may not run at the combine, let me point out that Jerry's chit-chat with D-Mac at the college awards ceremony was not their "one and only face-to-face meeting."

Here's an excerpt from another face-to-face meeting between Jerry and his beloved Hog RB:

Cowboys owner and proud Arkansas alumnus Jerry Jones stopped by Friday at SMU to watch the Razorbacks' preparations for the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic and to brag on his new $1 billion-plus stadium that will eventually house the bowl.

He watched practice from the sidelines and chit-chatted with acclaimed running back Darren McFadden.

Maybe Einstein ought to get off the Patriots message boards every once in a while and read the newspaper that employs him.

If you folks need me, I'll be on the Mavs blog (shameless plug).

JOHN F. RHODES / DMN

Unlike Massachusetts native Albert "Einstein" Breer, I'm not thin-skinned, so my feathers aren't ruffled by Jim Fassel's accusations that bloggers cost him the Redskins gig.

Plus, I know that Fassel is right. Bloggers have a whole lot of pull in NFL coaching searches. Look no further than this here blog for proof.

I was on the Wade Phillips bandwagon from the get-go. Jerry held hands with old pal Norv Turner at the Hall of Fame, but he hired Bum's boy based primarily on my advice.

Now, Coach Wade critics might point out that Turner's Chargers played in a conference championship game while the Cowboys had the weekend off. But the Cowboys were the clearly surperior team. Just look at the winning percentages -- Cowboys (13-4, .765); Chargers (13-6, .684).

Superstar columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor sees the writing on the wall for Wade Phillips, and it scares the bejeezus out of him.

No matter what happens from here on out, Jerry has usurped Phillips' power and authority by creating the perception – make that reality – that it's only a matter of time before Garrett becomes the eighth coach in franchise history.

Perhaps, it doesn't matter.

A year after Bill Parcells left the building, Jerry is completely out of control. He's running things like he did in the '90s once Jimmy Johnson left – and we know what a disaster that became.

The biggest concern with the Cowboys is that the owner thinks the GM is a genius despite a shaky track record, and that won't change anytime soon.

So says superstar columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor in this week's newsletter.

This would be the dumbest move Jones has ever made in 19 years of owning the Cowboys.

Worse than the feud with Jimmy Johnson that led to the coach’s departure. Worse than trading a pair of No. 1 picks to Seattle for Joey Galloway. And worse than wasting millions on Chad Hutchinson and Drew Henson in hopes one of them would become the next Troy Aikman.

JJT goes on to list several reasons why the trade doesn't make sense. But can't you just imagine Jerry getting all starry-eyed while watching D-Mac highlights?

So much for the Tuna's raid of Valley Ranch giving Wade Phillips an opportunity to hire "his guys."

If Jerry guy Dave Campo and Dom Capers round out the Cowboys' coaching staff, Phillips will have exactly zero experience working with any of the defensive position coaches. But the Cowboys will be set up awfully well for the eventual transition into the Jason Garrett era.

Garrett reportedly wanted Capers to be his defensive coordinator if he became the head coach in Baltimore. Jerry is on the record saying WR coach Ray Sherman is a "future coordinator" who "knows this system inside and out." So, if Capers comes on board, Garrett's coordinators will already be in the building. And it's not too tough to envision Campo becoming the assistant head coach.

By nature, NFL owners are competitive people. You don't become a katrillionaire without being one.

But they might be going a little far now.

This Bloomberg story details the race to have the best in-stadium video boards, a battle being waged by your own Jerry Jones and the Tisch and Mara families, who run the Giants. JerryWorld, as you all know, will have a high-def screen hanging over the middle of the field that will run from 20-yard line to 20-yard line.

Meanwhile, the Outside Gotham palace that will house the Jets and Giants -- set to open a year later than the Cowboys' place, in 2010 -- will have 18,000 square feet of video screens, which is 2,000 less than Jerry's Arlington digs.

``It's very important for us to be sensitive to how sophisticated young people experience the distribution and delivery of media,'' said Giants co-owner Steve Tisch. ``Fans can't be tricked with smoke and mirrors. What we offer has to be legitimately cutting-edge. It has to have that `WOW!' factor.''

For the second time in as many days, ESPN's Chris Mortensen has said that Cowboys owner/GM is hot after Arkansas RB Darren McFadden.

He said it on ESPN Radio's GameDay yesterday, and again on NFL Countdown moments ago. And apparently he has a prospective trading partner in the Dolphins, who have former Valley Ranchers Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland in charge.

Most people have McFadden going in the top five. Timmy Tabloid already addressed what it would take to get to No. 1, which I'd agree is far too steep a price to pay. In fact, I really wouldn't go after McFadden, period.

But if you want to know, the draft value chart employed by most teams shows that the assigned point total the two picks (22 and 28) the Cowboys have add to 1,440. That total, according to the chart, lands between the seventh (1,500) and eighth (1,400) overall picks. The Patriots, picking seventh overall, could be a viable trading partner, given that they traditionally don't like paying the up-front money that Top 10 picks command and consider late first-rounders of higher value.

A lot of folks see Jerry Jones as the epitome of a meddling owner. His GM title can be used as evidence in that argument.

But before you complain about Jerry, read up on the latest Al Davis debacle in Raiderland. Pretty sure the Black Hole residents would love to swap owners with the Cowboys.

Speaking of out-of-control egos, Danny Snyder is conducting quite an interesting coaching search in Washington. He took a page out of Jerry's book and hired an offensive coordinator (Jim Zorn) before deciding on a head coach.

The Dolphins have declared that they are willing to deal the No. 1 overall pick.

"We're open for business," new Miami GM Jeff Ireland said.

Cowboy fans, cross your fingers that Jerry doesn't let his lust for Arkansas RB Darren McFadden cloud his judgment. Whether or not you think D-Mac will be a gamebreaker in the NFL, the Cowboys would have to give up way too much to move to the top of the draft.

According to Jimmy Johnson's draft-pick value chart, the No. 1 pick has a value of 3,000. Nos. 22 (780) and 28 (660) don't even add up to half of that.

Jerry was kind enough to let Ireland go to Miami without seeking compensation. He's done enough for the Dolphins. No sense in letting Bill Parcells talk him into contributing a slew of draft picks to Miami's rebuilding efforts for the right to pick an RB who would split time here.

Jerry confirmed that the Cowboys are preparing as if the three assistant coaches whose contracts expired won't be back.

At this point, it'd be surprising if Todd Bowles (secondary), Paul Pasqualoni (linebackers) and Kacy Rodgers (defensive line) don't join Tony Sparano and Bill Parcells in Miami. The Cowboys are interviewing candidates to replace those assistants at the Senior Bowl this week.

We'll get you names of candidates as soon as possible. Ex-Cowboy LB Dat Nguyen, the Cowboys' defensive quality control assistant/assistant LB coach, could replace Pasqualoni.

That's superstar columnist Kevin Sherrington's advice after Jerry made Jason Garrett the highest-paid assistant coach in the history of the world.

Fortunately for Phillips, Jerry put his faith in a young man of character and principle. The head coach won't need to worry about the offensive coordinator. But Phillips had better be leery of his owner.

Garrett wants to be a head coach, even though he just turned down two offers. His chances of it happening here are about as good as Tony Romo's odds of getting lucky at Ghostbar -- pretty much a sure thing.

But Garrett doesn't have a hand in the current head coach's back in an effort to push him out the door. He said he's not worried about what could be some interesting chemistry in the coaches' office now that he's unofficially the coach in waiting.

"I don't worry about that at all because I know what Wade's all about, and to be honest with you, I know what I'm all about, too," Garrett said during yesterday's press conference. "We're both all about team, and I can't say this enough – I'm really fortunate to work for Wade Phillips.

"I've told you guys this before; there were 50 people who told me last year what a special guy Wade is. This is before we're working together. And then when I had a chance to work with him, I can see what everyone is saying."

At the NFL's European Vacation in October, Jerry Jones was asked about his team hopping on a plane and going overseas.

"It probably doesn't fit us," he responded to the media in London.

Here's my question: Why not next year? Seriously. Preliminary NFL plans have been to stage two games overseas per year, with each team in the league playing two in foreign lands over a 16-year period, giving up one home date over that time.

So say Jerry's got his back to the wall on this one, and has to give up a home game between now and 2023. It seems like next year would make the most sense, from a financial standpoint. He wouldn't be giving up the cash bonanza that home games in the new stadium will bring, starting in 2009, and with news that the league will return to England in 2008, he could not only spread his brand, but also spare his team a longer trip when the league starts looking to further away locales.

Is this an attempt to get a free trip to London? Well, maybe it is.

Jerry Jones doesn't have Jeff Ireland and Brian Gaine around to help any more, and he's been awfully busy watching his commercials and trying to talk Jason Garrett into sticking around Valley Ranch. I'm concerned that he hasn't had much time to think about which Cowboys free agents are keepers.

Do you folks have any advice for him? Read Todd Archer's story previewing the off-season scene and fire away. Follow the jump to read my advice to Jerry.

In the days coming, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and assistant head coach Tony Sparano could be gone.

And there are a few assistants that have expiring contracts and, as such, wouldn't have to do any wriggling to join either Garrett or Sparano in, say, Baltimore or Miami. Defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers, linebackers coach Paul Pasqualoni and defensive backs coach Todd Bowles are among those that are free to leave and all three of those guys were brought here not by Wade Phillips, but new Miami football czar Bill Parcells.

Because 2008 is really hard to wrap his head around right now.

"This is a first," Jones said, "when we had a team that had the kind of ability that this team had, not to be able to push this thing to a championship game."

As you can imagine, Jerry wasn't too interested in reflection tonight. We posted earlier that he plans on sticking by Wade Phillips as his head coach. But at the same time, he knows how much the 13-3 season is devalued by going one-and-done in the playoffs.

"I don’t want to take anything away from our regular season tonight," Jones said. "But our undoing here tonight undid a lot of things we had a lot of pride in. These players have a right to enjoy their individual honors, but everyone one of them would trade that to be playing here next week. This is very hard."

JOHN F. RHODES / DMN

Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones was asked the question point-blank: Do you re-evaluate Wade's performance in light of tonight's playoff flop?

His answer was just as succinct.

"No. No. No," Jones said. "I said nothing that we did in the playoffs would affect the status of his job. It’s not an issue. He’s our head coach."

As for the status of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and assistant head coach Tony Sparano, each of whom is in the running for multiple head coaching openings, Jones said he's prepared to lose either of them. And he reiterated that the potential loss of an assistant will not affect his decision-making in regards to the head coach. That decision, he says, has been made.

"I can’t elaborate on (Sparano and Garrett), but certainly part of my job is to make sure that, on a timely basis, we’re able to address what happens to our staff," Jones said. "When you enjoy success, you’re going to lose coaches. I should and do have prospective coaches I would think of if we have openings."

I see some of you folks are fired up by the ProFootballTalk.com item titled, "Cowboys Implosion Coming?"

You've always got to be careful about anonymous sources saying things like the Cowboys are "going to be a disaster within two years." What does that source have to gain by making such a statement?

Is it true? Well, I see a team that has a franchise quarterback and several other twentysomething core players locked up in long-term deals and a ton of room under the salary cap. It'd take some serious screwing up for this team to turn into a disaster that quickly.

That being said, this draft will be awfully interesting, especially since the Cowboys have a couple of first-round picks. The post-Jimmy and pre-Tuna drafts put this franchise in a position to have an 11-year playoff win drought. Jerry has made it clear that replacing Jeff Ireland isn't a priority, trusting Tom Ciskowski and the scouting department's input and his own decision-making skills.

"As general manager, I have the final say in every decision with every player and every coach," Jerry said. "That is the way it has been here for 19 years. That's the way it was here with Bill. If we disagreed, then I broke the tie."

I don't think you have to worry about Jerry and Co. turning this team into a disaster in the near future. The question is whether they will make the moves necessary for the Cowboys to continue contending for Super Bowl titles.

If you think Jerry Jones is concerned about his franchise quarterback jetting off with Jessica Simpson, think again.

"I have no concern about Tony's social life and about his relationships," Jerry said yesterday. "I've had a lot of players in 19 years that I've had concerns in those areas about, so I'm not a novice. I don't have any. There's not one concern about his relationship and about how he relaxes and what he does with his time."

Jerry, who famously warned Romo that some ladies can "smell fresh cash" after he signed his $67 million deal, was asked why he didn't get invited to the Simpson Family Bye Week Fiesta. Jerry replied with a gem of a one-liner.

"I was the one taking the pictures," he cracked.

That was a joke -- Papa Joe was probably behind the camera -- but Jerry sure doesn't mind the marketing effect of Romo's crossover celebrity.

Folks around Valley Ranch are being coy about T.O.'s health, but the head honcho raved about Terry Glenn's potential to make an impact against the Giants.

"I think we've got a chance to have 83 light 'em up," Jerry Jones said. "I'm excited about that."

Glenn has been full go in practice for the last couple days. He chipped off a little bit of rust by playing against the Redskins in the regular-season finale, and Jerry thinks Glenn's decision not to have season-ending surgery in September could pay off big in the playoffs.

Wade Phillips said yesterday that anything the Cowboys get from Glenn should be considered a bonus. Sounds like Jerry is counting on that bonus.

Wade Phillips found himself in the strange situation of answering questions about his job security while preparing his 13-3 team for a playoff game.

Jerry Jones made it clear during a press conference at Valley Ranch today that speculation of Phillips being one-and-done as the Cowboys' head coach is off base.

"There's nothing that can happen in the playoffs that would change my thinking about him being head coach of the Dallas Cowboys," Jerry said, "and I don't know how you could even have a question as to whether or not he's coaching or not for the Cowboys in the future."

The speculation started because of Jerry's fondness for offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who has already interviewed for head coaching vacancies in Atlanta and Baltimore. The theory was that Jerry could fire Phillips and promote Garrett instead of letting the red-headed genius go elsewhere to become a head coach.

Jerry Jones said the Cowboys have no plans to add anybody to the front office before the draft. And they might not ever replace former VP of college and pro scouting Jeff Ireland now that he's left to take the Miami GM gig.

Jerry pointed out that he has a director of college scouting (Tom Ciskowski) and a director of pro scouting (Brian Gaine) still on the payroll.

"So I don’t know that we need to replace Jeff," Jerry said.

Funny, I was under the impression that the job Ireland did around these parts was pretty important.

Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones just got off a conference call with all of us, and was gracious in speaking on the subject of his now former VP of college and pro scouting, Jeff Ireland, named GM in Miami today.

"First of all the way I feel is that it’s great opportunity for Jeff, one I really on a personal basis wanted him to have," Jones said. "My thought has always been and philosophy is that if you want to help people that you’re working with advance then that helps you. That doesn’t go unnoticed, people see that. It helps when you’re sitting down, talking to somebody else about joining in their future, knowing that you’ll help them have an opportunity if given the chance.

The Dolphins just put out a press release, trumpeting the hire of Cowboys director of college and pro scouting Jeff Ireland as the team's new general manager, something Todd reported on a little while ago. The important piece of news on this expected move is that Miami is saying it is "immediate", meaning the Cowboys won't force him to stay in Dallas through the draft, as some thought they would.

Here's what the Dolphins put out. And here's a link with a nice picture of Tuna and his new right-hand man.

The Miami Dolphins today named Jeff Ireland as their new general manager, effective immediately. Ireland joins the Dolphins after a seven-year stint with the Dallas Cowboys, including the past three as the team’s Vice President of College and Pro Scouting. In fact, of the 53 players on the current Cowboys team, which went 13-3 and won the NFC East in 2007, 38 were acquired over the last three years, including 12 of the club’s 22 starters.

Jay Glazer of foxsports.com is reporting that Cowboys director of scouting Jeff Ireland has been granted permission to interview with Dolphins VP of football ops Bill Parcells for the vacant GM position in Miami. Here's a line from Glazer's report that has to be disconcerting for the Dallas organization:

"It's expected that Parcells will offer Ireland the job and equally as expected that Ireland accepts."

Glazer's also reporting that Brian Billick's out in Baltimore. Expect Jason Garrett's name to surface there, and that could be a job attractive enough to lure the young coordinator out of Dallas, with an outstanding front office and quality (albeit aging) roster in place.

Sure doesn't sound like Jerry plans to take my advice of resigning as GM and giving Jeff Ireland the title to keep him around Valley Ranch.

Matter of fact, Jerry sounds prepared to let Ireland reunite with Bill Parcells in Miami -- after the draft.

"In personnel, no one can leave until after the draft," Jones said. "The only thing I'm concerned about in personnel is that we get the benefit of all the work that's been done to run our draft. As far as sitting there with personnel, someone being given an opportunity to be a general manager or the opportunity to be over there, I'll help him.

"If Jeff got a chance to advance himself, then I'm all for it."

The three Cowboys who are the most recent additions to the multimillionaire club are an undrafted free agent and a couple seventh-round picks.

QB Tony Romo, NT Jay Ratliff and WR Patrick Crayton had to fight for roster spots when they arrived at Valley Ranch. They're now core players on a team set up to be Super Bowl contenders for several years.

And Jerry isn't done handing out eight-figure contracts to second-day draft picks. DE Chris Canty and RB Marion "The Barbarian" Barber should be cashing in soon.

If you don't want to praise Bill Parcells, give some love to the Cowboys' scouting department for stocking up in the middle and late rounds (and later in Romo's case).

This might seem like an awfully strange time to say that, since Jerry looks like a genius with the Cowboys at 13-2. And it's not meant as a criticism of Jerry. This is about making sure that the Cowboys keep Jeff Ireland, the VP of college and pro scouting.

It would surprise nobody if Bill Parcells tried to bring Ireland to Miami. Matter of fact, it'd be surprising if that didn't happen. Peter King wrote about it extensively in today's Monday Morning Quarterback.

The NFL rule is that if a front-office man does not have control over the draft and free agency, and he is being offered a job with that final football authority, then his team would be obligated to allow him to interview if permission were requested.

Will that apply in Miami? Maybe.

Parcells contends that his GM will have that authority, and he even read some lines from his contract in an attempt to prove it. But it'd be a non-issue as far as the Cowboys are concerned if Jerry gave Ireland the GM title.

As the owner, Jerry would still have final say over all matters involving the Cowboys. He doesn't need a GM title to prove how involved he is in football decisions.

I didn't write Jessica Simpson's name on this here blog one single time yesterday, because I had a hunch that folks were tired of reading about her. But Jerry, a marketing genius if there ever was one, enjoys the Jessica drama.

"There's a little part of me that hopes it doesn't go away," Jerry said in the locker room last night. "It's kind of fun for that kind of bantering to go about. Not at her expense. But I think it's about how popular she is, how pretty she is and her fame.

"But it has never had and won't ever make a difference on how Tony Romo plays."

Looks like 790 The Ticket might as well be hubbed not in Miami, but the Metroplex, because the Cowboys talk keeps coming from them.

Jerry Jones is a guest on The Michael Irvin Show, and he's been effusive in his praise for new Dolphins VP Bill Parcells.

"There’s nobody smarter than Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells, and you’ve got to respect that," Jones said. "I’ve certainly made my best decisions when I’ve been around someone who’s really smart, and I made my best decisions around those guys."

Jones said he didn't disagree strongly with Parcells more than four or five times, and that "Bill was more on board with Terrell (Owens) than people think." And he also went over how he would recommend Parcells to others. Follow the jump to see what he said.

The Cowboys went from Super Bowl contenders to sputtering into the playoffs by losing three of their last four regular-season games last year.

This December is off to a pretty sorry start, too. The Cowboys led for all of 18 seconds -- granted, the most important 18 seconds -- against a sorry Detroit squad. And losing to a last-place team at home is never an encouraging sign.

Jerry brushed off a question about the Cowboys' stuggles the last couple weeks by crediting the opponents. But the Eagles had lost three in a row before today, and the Lions sandwiched losses by 32 and 37 points around their one-point loss to Dallas.

"I don't worry about the history," T.O. said when asked about the trend of the Cowboys stinking it up in December. "I wasn't a history major in college."

Isn't there an old saying about those who don't remember history being doomed to repeat it?

UPDATE: Superstar columnist Tim Cowlishaw writes that this December looks way too much like last December for the Cowboys.

Former Arkansas AD Frank Broyles told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Jerry Jones played a key role in getting Bobby Petrino to become the head Hog.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank isn't pleased about the situation, but he's perturbed with Petrino, not Jones. Blank confirmed that Jerry contacted him about Petrino on behalf of Arkansas.

Jerry played for the Razorbacks back in the day and has been a big-money booster for some time, so his heart certainly could have prompted him to get involved. His assistance in the matter might also put a few more pennies in his bank account. A&M is ready to roll on a six-to-eight-year deal with Arkansas to play at JerryWorld, but the Hogs haven't crossed the i's and dotted the t's on the contract. Reckon that ought to happen real quick now.