An open letter to Jerry Jones. . .

Mr. Jones, my silence ends. I've been purposely quiet awaiting the decision by Bill Parcells. He's made the decision now, so my slience ends.

There was no need in talking about which direction this team needed to take without knowing whether there was going to be a change at head coach or not. We now know there will be a change there, so some serious discussion can now begin. Anything prior to this would have just been pure speculation. And even now, not knowing who you will choose as the next head coach, most of this will be speculation, also. But we do have some facts we can discuss regarding players.

I do want to say I think the way Parcells announced his leaving was pretty ball-less. After controlling the press for four seasons at Valley Ranch, the least he could have done is face the crowd one last time. An email for an announcement was pretty weaslish, if you ask me. At least he had enough balls to call you 20 minutes ahead of time, Mr. Jones.

And I know, all these delusions of Parcells working as GM and all that for the Cowboys aren't going to happen. Parcells is headed back to the northeast. We might see him at one of the teams up that way at some point as an advisor, or GM, or whatever, but his days in the Texas heat are over.

Now, to discussions of things we do know.

I've seen several statements regarding Tony Romo. Many are convinced that he's the quarterback of the future. No doubt, he did play well in several games. But here are some stats I'm sure you've looked at that tell a somewhat different story. These are games Tony Romo started against playoff contenders and his quarterback rating in those games.

Colts 89.5
Giants 58.1
Saints 58.8
Eagles 45.5
Seahawks 89.6

Average 68.3

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playe...le?statsId=6624

Of course, you know that the Cowboys lost three of those games. Against playoff contenders, Tony Romo did not play well. Yes, I know he finished the season with a 95.1, but he also finished the season on a downward spiral. His rating for his first five full games was 112.2. His rating for his last five games of the regular season was 77.6. I wouldn't be counting my chickens before the eggs hatch on this one, folks. I have high hopes for Romo, but there is no way I could say I'm convinced he's the quarterback of the future. At best, I'm presuming him to be the starter going into training camp at this point. And the next head coach could change that immediately. Unless you're more convinced than I think you are, Mr. Jones.

Mr, Jones, the concensus of opinion I hear is that Drew Bledsoe will be hanging up his helmet which means there's going to be at least one quarterback hired. I'm for grabbing a good QB in the draft and getting him plenty of time in practice and post season. Maybe a veteran QB also to act as immediate backup for Romo, or to compete for the starting position if Romo can't get his head together after the way this past season ended. For the record, I was never real comfortable playing over half the season with only two QBs on the active roster.

You, Mr. Jones, are now the center of attention. Everything else comes in a distant second. You're going to decide on who gets the honor of being the man to come in and try to clean up the mess that Bill Parcells has left. No, I don't think there's a big player mess, but there's definitely a coaching mess. The chances are extremely high of it happening, but if I had my choice, I'd like to see Jimmy Johnson as head coach, Dave Wanstadt as defensive coordinator and Norv Turner as offensive coordinator. Throw Avezzano into the mix there, too. We need a good special teams coach and he is that. Others can call all this living in the past if they want to, but these are guys that have a proven track record and have worked together successfully for you in the past. I see no reason why they couldn't do it again. This is highly improbable, but is not beyond the realm of reason. If you, Mr. Jones, are indeed serious about seeing the Cowboys return to the top of the NFL, you have the money to get it done and I sincerely believe this is the easiest way to get there. I don't think the Cowboys will be in the Superbowl in 2008, but I believe they can be there by the time the new stadium is open and the seats will be full. And last I heard, that is something that you want, Mr. Jones.

I believe there will be some personnel changes on the offensive line. There needs to be changes. They didn't get the job done in games that mattered. Whoever becomes your next head coach, and offensive coordinator, one of their first decisions y'all have to make is what to do about Terrell Owens. In my opinion, you send him packing. This morning's newspaper articles have us listening to him saying how glad he is that Parcells is gone, and how much better the Cowboys would have been had he (TO) been the focus of the offense. It's always all about TO. It's never TO's fault. I think anyone that perfect should be shared and not selfishly kept by the Cowboys. You should let him go to another team so they can share in that perfection and you can show your true benevolence to the league. No, I will not bring up dropped passes or distractions in this letter. Period.

Resign Terry Glenn and Crayton, Mr. Jones. Pick up another good wide receiver in free agency or a 2nd rounder in the draft. some of the younger guys like Hurd, etc. will begin to step up this coming season to fill in the other gaps.

At running back, there needs to be a change. Julius Jones has had enough time to prove whether he's going to be "the man" and it's clear to me that he isn't. Marion Barber isn't an "every down" back but is definitely the red-zone guy. I think Jones needs to be shopped around and a running back needs to be drafted. Someone with some heart and the ability to get past the first defensive guy on most runs. You know the kind I'm talking about, Mr. Jones. You've got his name on the ring of honor at your stadium.

I think there will be some changes with the defense. Not nearly as much as on offense. I think coaching and play calling improvement will do more for the defense than just player changes. Putting the right guys in the right place at the right time will improve this defense without any player changes at all. I do think that if you can make an improvement at a position without it giving away the farm, then changing players would be in order, but I think good coaching of the present personnel will improve this defense considerably. As far as the 4-3 vs 3-4 controversy, I think good coaching and good execution will make either scheme work.

The Cowboys have a fairly good special teams group right now. Getting Avezzano back would improve it immediately. Avezzano had the uncanny ability to find guys that could be had for very little money that could get the job done as kicker. He definitely knew how to get the most out of kickers and did it repeatedly. I have no problem with keeping Gramatica as kicker. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing a younger guy as kicker either, but Gramatica was at least predictable in a good way. Obviously the punting game is in good shape with McBriar at the helm. Miles Austin did a good job for the most part.

Regardless of all of the above, one thing that has to be gotten under control is this December meltdown thing that has just completed its 11th consecutive year. Mr. Jones, eleven years in a row of a losing record in your final 5 games of the season is enough. If it's conditioning, get it done. If it's coaching, get it done. If it's a mental thing, get a handle on it and get it done. Enough is enough. You are professionals and right now, for the month of December, you are a bunch of professional losers. Fix it. This next season. Get it done.

The retirement of Bill Parcells has probably moved any chance, if there was even one to begin with, of the Cowboys going to the Superbowl to 2009 at the earliest. This next season is going to be a rebuilding year with new coaches, etc. Getting the coaching staff I've mentioned above would cut down on some of that, but even with that experienced group, I don't see them coming in, not knowing the personnel and having to make some changes at some positions, and getting there in 2008. At the earliest, it would be 2009. More likely is 2010. The new stadium is anticipated to be open for play in 2009, just in time for the Cowboys to make their Superbowl run.

Mr. Jones, you are the one who will ultimately benefit or lose from his decision. The Cowboys are in their longest period of playoff win drought in franchise history. You can build a mansion around an outhouse and it's still an outhouse. Building that beautiful stadium to house a franchise that loses to the Detroit Lions, a 1-14 team, won't be enough to keep folks spending their hard earned money there. It's all about the almighty dollar. You give us a winning franchise, Mr. Jones, and we give you our money. Give us losers or teams that choke every December and you leave a bad taste in our mouth and we don't give you our money. You are the one that has to choose which one tastes worse to you, a little crow when you go to Jimmy Johnson to hire him back, or the crow when you look at your financial report at the end of the year after another losing season.

We've waited for eleven seasons for you to fix this team. How much longer do you expect us to wait? How much longer can you expect us to say "America's Team" without snickering? Which is worse, Mr. Jones, admitting you were wrong when you fired Jimmy Johnson, or watching your franchise fall further into mediocrity, with the ensuing drop in revenue? How much longer do you think you can ride on those Superbowl championships from the 90's?

This time, the change is not your choice, Mr. Jones. For the first time in history, a head coach for the Dallas Cowboys has left without you firing him, Mr. Jones. I don't know how that affects your ego and frankly don't care. What I do care about is seeing you do what's right for this team. I think hiring anyone that has shown he couldn't get the job done for other franchises as head coach isn't the answer. This leaves out Mariucci, Phillips, and some others. I think hiring anyone that has never coached in the NFL isn't the answer. This leaves out all the college coaches. I think any coach you consider has to have shown he can get a team to the Superbowl or at least been an assistant head coach or coordinator on one of those teams. This narrows the list considerably. Now we're down to Jimmy Johnson, Lovie Smith, Bill Cowher, Jeff Fisher, possibly a few others. Fisher and Smith are probably impossible to sign. Cowher is doubtful.

Eat the crow, Mr. Jones. Pay the money and eat the crow. We'll all be happier for it. Including you.

On behalf of Cowboy fans everywhere, thank you, in advance.