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GRAPEVINE, Texas – Jerry Jones believes his franchise is well prepared for the first step in the arbitration process for the salary-cap sanctions leveled against the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins by the NFL management council.

The first hearing is Thursday in front of arbitrator Stephen Burbank, who will determine whether the NFL and NFLPA had the authority to impose the sanctions against the Cowboys and Redskins. If Burbank rules in favor of the teams, a second hearing would be scheduled to determine how the $10 million stripped from the Cowboys’ salary cap and $36 million stripped from the Redskins’ salary cap over a two-year period should be handled.

“I can’t and won’t address the specifics and certainly wouldn’t dare try to predict what the resolution will be,” Jones said Wednesday at the Cowboys’ annual team golf outing. “I’m glad we’ve got an opportunity to present it under the labor agreement to a mediator, and that’s what tomorrow is all about. … It won’t resolve the issue, but it will help decide whether or not we can go before a mediator.”

The league leveled the sanctions after it ruled that the Cowboys and Redskins violated the spirit of the uncapped 2010 season with front-loaded contracts for Dallas receiver Miles Austin and ex-Washington defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Jones said the Cowboys’ legal team has filed a “very good brief” and pointed out once again that the contracts were approved by the league office.

“I know we followed the rules,” Jones said. “The league has not said that we did not follow the rules. Those were approved contracts, but this is a complicated issue. Again, that’s about all I need to be saying about it and want to say about it.”

The teams opted to have half of the penalties assessed this offseason, costing the Cowboys $5 million and the Redskins $18 million in salary-cap space during this free agency period. Jones, whose team signed seven free agents from other teams, said the penalty did not prevent the Cowboys from making any acquisitions they would have otherwise but could create future complications.

“Certainly, we’ve been able to adjust,” Jones said. “It was a big surprise to us to have that downward adjustment in our cap. It was very meaningful to us because we are usually always looking for room under our cap, so it was very meaningful for us to have to make that adjustment. But I can tell you that as we stand here right now, we didn’t not do anything that we wanted to do.

“What we’ve had to do though, because they’ve reduced the amount of dollars that we had this year, we’ve had to go into the future and get some of those dollars that we wouldn’t have had to do if we had not had to make those adjustments. That’ll just create a challenge for us in the future.”

We don’t have to ask what Jerry Jones thinks of the possibility of trading for Tim Tebow. We’ve already heard Jones’ thoughts about whether the Cowboys would be interested in adding Tebow to the roster.

“Why?” Jones slurred, a moment secretly caught on camera, part of a video filmed at a local bar/restaurant that went viral before the 2010 draft. “He’d never get on the field. I can’t get him out there.”

That wasn’t so much a knock on Tebow as it was a vote of confidence in Tony Romo. In that regard, nothing has changed in the last couple of years, which is why you don't hear the Cowboys mentioned among the teams interested in Tebow.

The Cowboys just made a significant investment in backup quarterback Kyle Orton, who happens to be the guy who got benched to make way for Tebowmania in Denver. It doesn’t make financial sense to give up assets to add a third-string quarterback with a first-round contract.

It’s fun to speculate about the possibility of Tebow running a Wildcat package for the Cowboys and possibly being groomed to replace Romo down the road. It’s funny to read Twitter jokes about Tebow serving as the Cowboys’ closer – never mind the fact that Romo’s late-game numbers compare favorably to every active quarterback.

It just isn’t a realistic scenario to envision Tebow with a star on his helmet. If you don’t believe me, just grab a bar stool next to Jerry some time.

Four years later, the Cowboys have nothing to show for all the cash they threw around during 2008.

Jerry Jones went on a re-signing spree that offseason, making major commitments to receiver Terrell Owens, running back Marion Barber, left tackle Flozell Adams, safety Ken Hamlin and cornerback Terence Newman. He gave receiver Roy Williams a rich extension after trading for him later that season.

The Cowboys cut ties with the last of those guys Tuesday, releasing Newman in a move that was about as surprising as opponents picking on him while the Cowboys lost four of their last five games.

Half of the Cowboys who cashed huge signing bonus checks from the Cowboys in ’08 weren’t even in the league last season. Barber and Williams were role players for the Bears, and Newman struggled as the Cowboys’ starting left cornerback.

T.O. was the first of the group to go from Valley Ranch. He got the pink slip – er, white tablecloth – after one controversy-packed, chemistry-killing season of his four-year, $34 million extension that included a $12.9 million signing bonus.

The Cowboys cut Adams and Hamlin two seasons into their six-year deals. Adams got $15 million guaranteed on a $43 million contract. Hamlin got a $9 million signing bonus on a $39 million contract. The Cowboys got an oft-penalized tackle and a non-playmaking safety.

Barber and Williams played three nonproductive seasons for the Cowboys after getting their rich contracts. Barber’s seven-year, $45 million deal included $16 million guaranteed. About half of Williams’ six-year, $54 million deal, which he signed before playing a down for the Cowboys, was guaranteed.

Newman played four seasons of his six-year, $50.2 million deal, which included $22.5 million guaranteed. He struggled much of the last two seasons, but Newman was still the best buy of the Cowboys’ ’08 shopping spree.

If you read Jerry Jones’ quotes from this week at the Senior Bowl, it’d be reasonable to conclude that he’s confused about just how much of an overhaul the Cowboys’ roster needs.

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The man manages to come across as delusional and realistic on the same subject.

Delusional: “Personnel is not an issue in my mind overall relative to us having a good team next year.”

Realistic: “We’ve got a lot of work to do with our personnel.”

Clearly, Jerry can use all the guidance he can get, and we’re always happy to help. So here’s a list of the Cowboys’ top positional priorities entering the offseason.

1. Cornerback: All indications are that the Cowboys will make the common-sense decision to cut Terence Newman. Jerry made a point to praise Orlando Scandrick, so it’s up to the coaches to make sure the general manager understands that Scandrick did nothing to indicate he’s ready for a starting job after signing a five-year, $27 million contract extension. At the least, the Cowboys need to get somebody to compete with Scandrick for that job during training camp. Ideally, the Cowboys acquire a starter and leave Scandrick in the nickel role. And the Cowboys need more than one new corner, as depth is a significant concern.

2. Interior offensive line: These were the offense’s weakest links. The Cowboys have to upgrade at least two of these three spots. The Cowboys would be wise to use a big chunk of their cap space – $12.6 million now and sure to grow – to sign Pro Bowl guard Carl Nicks in free agency. Jones and coach Jason Garrett have also essentially admitted that it was a mistake to consider Phil Costa a starting center.

3. Outside linebacker: Average Anthony Spencer is a free agent and the Cowboys can’t afford to lock up another mediocre player to a lucrative long-term contract. Can they get somebody who is capable of providing consistent pressure opposite DeMarcus Ware?

4. Safety: For better or worse, Gerald Sensabaugh will return after signing a five-year, $22.5 million extension. The Cowboys have to hope that his struggles down the stretch were due in large part to the painful foot injury Sensabaugh played through. They need to find a playmaker to pair with him. Abram Elam had no interceptions or passes defensed last season.

5. Defensive line: The Cowboys need more disruptors up front. There is always offseason talk about bumping Jay Ratliff from nose tackle to defensive end. That could determine whether the Cowboys which defensive line position the Cowboys most need to address. But the Cowboys can’t just settle for space-eaters. Players like San Francisco’s Justin Smith and Houston’s J.J. Watt have shown the value of having playmakers up front in a 3-4 scheme.

6. Inside linebacker: Bruce Carter, the second-round pick who basically redshirted as a rookie, needs to be able to step into Bradie James’ spot as a starter next to Sean Lee. But the Cowboys still need to find another inside linebacker capable of playing immediately and contributing on special teams. All due respect to Keith Brooking, who wants to keep playing, but he can’t be counted on to cover punts and kicks at his age.

7. Quarterback: No, the Cowboys shouldn’t be thinking about replacing Tony Romo. But they need to find him a backup. Stephen McGee hasn’t shown enough to be trusted in that role, and Garrett prefers to go the seasoned veteran route anyway.

8. Tight end: Martellus Bennett’s potential will become another team’s problem. John Phillips should be able to step into the No. 2 role, but the Cowboys need to address the depth at this position.

Tony Sparano’s return to Valley Ranch makes so much sense that Jerry Jones needs to offer as many dollars as necessary to make it happen.

Maybe that won’t matter, as Sparano has financial security from the contract extension the Dolphins gave him through 2013 before deciding to fire him as their head coach in December. Maybe Sparano will be offered a true offensive coordinator job with play-calling responsibilities, which Jason Garrett will not give up, that he considers too good to pass up.

But Jerry has to give it his best shot if he really wants Garrett to succeed.

Jones has proven in the past that he’s willing to pay top dollar for assistant coaches, compensating Garrett like a head coach to keep him on Wade Phillips’ staff and making Hudson Houck the NFL’s first million-dollar offensive line coach. Sparano, a key factor in helping Bill Parcells rebuild the Cowboys’ respectability last decade, justifies that kind of offer.

Loyalty to Houck, who is in his second tour of duty at Valley Ranch, can’t get in the way of what’s best for the franchise. Jones and Garrett can’t let their personal feelings for Houck cloud their judgment.

If Houck and Sparano can co-exist on a staff, that’s swell. But if Houck has to go to make room for Sparano, so be it.

There are many reasons why Sparano, who is respected tremendously by team leaders like Tony Romo and Jason Witten, should be a priority for the Cowboys. The main ones:

1. Sparano would make Garrett a better head coach: Whether he wants to publicly admit it or not, everybody knows that Garrett made critical clock-management errors in a couple of losses. One solution would be to give up play-calling duties to allow Garrett to focus more on the big picture during games, but that isn’t going to happen. He’d benefit from having somebody else on the headset with significant head coaching experience.

2. Sparano would make Garrett a better offensive coordinator: This isn’t just a theory. It’s fact. Garrett’s best season by far as an offensive coordinator was in 2007, the only season that he worked with Sparano. The Cowboys ranked second in the NFL in scoring (28.4 points per game) that season despite it being Romo’s first full year as a starter. They’ve been a top-10 scoring offense only once in the four seasons since then, when they ranked seventh (24.6 points) in 2010.

3. Sparano would make the offensive line better: Dallas’ offensive line has steadily regressed since Sparano’s departure. His edginess and expertise have been missed. Hiring Sparano would increase Tyron Smith’s chances to reach his immense potential. It would increase Doug Free’s odds to return to his 2010 form. It’d give the Cowboys’ young, unproven offensive linemen – which should include another early-round pick in April – their best shot of developing into long-term solutions.

One man could help fix a few of the Cowboys' biggest flaws. What's that worth to Jerry?

UPDATE: Houck is retiring, as reported by ESPN's Chris Mortensen. He will be replaced by Bill Callahan, whose résumé includes stints as a play-caller and head coach for the Raiders and University of Nebraska.

Changes are likely to come soon on the Cowboys’ coaching staff.

“We’ll give you better answers on that as we go over the next three weeks,” owner/general manager Jerry Jones said during a Friday appearance on KRLD-FM, indicating that hires would be made the week of the Jan. 28 Senior Bowl. “That’s pretty much the way I’ll leave it.”

Those changes will not include defensive coordinator Rob Ryan unless he gets an offer to become a head coach. Jones said he is excited about Ryan returning as defensive coordinator, adding that head coach Jason Garrett is in agreement on the issue.

Several assistant coaches have contracts that are expiring: Dave Campo (secondary), Hudson Houck (running game/offensive line), Brett Maxie (secondary/safeties), Wes Phillips (assistant offensive line), Keith O’Quinn (offensive quality control/wide receivers) and Skip Peete (running backs).

Poor performances by their position groups could result in Campo and Houck being replaced despite the franchise’s respect for the assistants in their second tour of duty at Valley Ranch.

The Cowboys tried to replace Campo last offseason by hiring Ray Horton away from the Steelers. However, Horton opted to become the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator instead. Had Horton been hired, Campo likely would have been reassigned to an off-field position.

Former Cowboys offensive line coach Tony Sparano, who was fired as the Miami Dolphins’ head coach this season, could be a candidate to replace Houck. Garrett’s most successful season as a play-caller was in 2007, when he worked with Sparano, who has excellent relationships with key Cowboys such as Tony Romo and Jason Witten.

However, Sparano would likely opt for an offensive coordinator job with play-calling responsibilities if given the choice. Garrett has no intention of relinquishing play-calling duties.

Garrett is also extremely loyal to Houck, who was on the Cowboys’ staff for two Super Bowl championship seasons during Garrett’s playing career and worked with him on the Dolphins’ staff before they returned to Dallas.

Rip Jerry Jones as a general manager all you want. The NFL’s only owner/GM accepts that the wrath of the fans is part of the deal when the Dallas Cowboys have a disappointing season.

And Jones won’t even consider changing the structure of the Cowboys’ front office despite the fact that disappointing seasons have been the norm since the franchise’s mid-1990s dynasty died.

“The facts are that I’ve spent 22 years doing this exactly the same way,” Jones said Tuesday on KRLD-FM. “I’ve made a lot of changes from year to year as time goes along, but frankly, I know that when we do not have the kind of success, when we don’t have expectations lived up to, the one that should get the most heat is the one that ultimately makes the decisions, period, with the Dallas Cowboys. And that’s me.”

Jones dismissed the idea of hiring a general manager from outside the organization, such as Bill Polian after the Colts fired the architect of their Super Bowl team, and emphasized that he uses information from many different sources to make football decisions.

In Jones’ mind, adding a general manager to the payroll would clutter the decision-making process, not improve it.

“The thing you’ve got to realize is that when you have an owner that is full time as the owner, then you create a situation where you have as much turnover at GM as you do at coaching level,” Jones said. “And I think that just deters from the mix.”

The Cowboys have had six head coaches, one general manager and one playoff win in the last 15 seasons.

The Cowboys just completed an 8-8 season in which they beat only one team that finished .500 or better. But Jones believes his team was talented enough to make a playoff run, and he’s pleased with the coaching.

“More often than not, when you’re in the kind of shape we are statistically, you’re doing better in the playoffs,” Jones said.

More often than not, if a team wins one playoff game in 15 years, there’s turnover at the GM spot. The Cowboys are an exception in a lot of ways.

Despite Jerry Jones’ delusions about being a contender, the 2011 Cowboys were the epitome of mediocrity.

That’s obvious from the Cowboys’ 8-8 record, which included one win over a team with a .500 or better record and three wins over teams that fired their head coaches.

Further evidence that the Cowboys are about as average as could be: They finished the season ranked 15th in scoring offense (23.1 points per game) and 16th in scoring defense (21.7 point per game).

“I am disappointed that we are not going to get a chance to see more of this team,” Jones said after the Cowboys’ season ended with a loss to the Giants, “but that’s the price you pay when you don’t get into the tournament.”

Mediocrity comes with a cost.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jerry Jones believed that his Dallas Cowboys were capable of making a playoff run right up until the final minutes of the season.

You could consider that evidence that the Cowboys’ owner is delusional about the talent level of the team his general manager has assembled.

“What is nothing to fool yourself about is that we’re 8-8,” Jones said after the Giants handed the Cowboys a 31-14 loss with the NFC East title at stake. “We’ve got to do better than that.

“We had an opportunity to step up here and win a ballgame and go into the playoffs that I thought we would win. I am very surprised that we didn’t win it, but I accept the fact that whatever it is that we don’t have or didn’t do, we’ve got to look to get better.”

Jones’ franchise has won a grand total of one playoff game in 15 seasons. This team hasn’t made the playoffs the last two seasons after recording that lone playoff win.

Maybe Jones needs to come to grips with the possibility that the Cowboys’ core just isn’t good enough. But he’s not ready to deal with that reality.

“This is not the time for me to think about that, because just hours ago I thought this core group had an opportunity to go very far into the playoffs,” Jones said. “So I’m very disappointed. I’m frankly surprised that we didn’t do better and that we didn’t win this ballgame. I thought we could win this ballgame, not taking anything away from the Giants.

“I give them a lot of credit -- their coaching staff, their organization -- but right up until the end of the fourth quarter did it really dawn on me that we probably weren’t going to be in the playoffs. And that’s a shame, because we’ve got a team in here that I think is good enough to play and play well, but we didn’t show it tonight.”

The Cowboys didn’t show it half of their games this season, including four of the final five.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Although he expected a win at MetLife Stadium, Jerry Jones emphasized this week that Jason Garrett would continue to be the Cowboys’ head coach regardless of the regular-season finale’s score.

Jones didn’t change his mind after a 31-14 loss to the New York Giants with the NFC East title on the line, ending the Cowboys’ season with an 8-8 record.

“Unequivocally,” Jones said when asked whether he still felt the same way about Garrett. “I feel that Jason is our coach and we can build and do some good things from here. We can take some of the things that we need to do better and address them.”

Garrett’s first full season as a head coach will be remembered for the Cowboys blowing three double-digit fourth-quarter leads -- something that had happened only twice in the franchise’s previous 51 seasons -- and a clock-management crisis in the final 26 seconds of regulation in an overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals. It will be remembered for the Cowboys collapsing down the stretch, losing four of their last five games to miss the plays.

Jones, however, sees hope and growth when he evaluates a 45-year-old head coach with a 13-11 record.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in him,” Jones said. “He has done a lot of good things here. He’s learned a lot this year. Hopefully we all do, but still he’s learned a lot. Our fans and Cowboys will take advantage of that.”

IRVING, Texas – The speculation still swirls, so the questions continue to come at Jerry Jones, no matter how clear he has been about his commitment to Jason Garrett as the Cowboys’ head coach.

“That’s just ridiculous,” Jones said Friday on KRLD-FM, referring to the suspicion that Garrett’s job is on the line Sunday night. “As I’ve said earlier – and I think it expressed it very well – we’re just getting started with Jason.”

Garrett’s job is not in jeopardy. It hasn’t been at any point this season. It will not be even if the Cowboys get blown out by the Giants with the NFC East title at stake.

“We’ll answer this thing as many ways as you want to answer it with as many circumstances,” Jones said. “His job has no bearing and is not a part of this ballgame. Yes, he’s going to be our coach next year, period, no matter what the score is.”

There are many reasons to take Jones at his word. Start with the fact that the Cowboys have made major progress since Garrett took over a 1-7 team last season. Consider that Jones has never fired a coach so early in his tenure and puts canning Chan Gailey after two seasons near the top of the list of his biggest regrets.

If you need further evidence, just look at the last time the Cowboys played a win-or-get-in game on the road. Jones guaranteed in no uncertain terms that Wade Phillips would return as head coach the next season. He stuck to his guns even after the 44-6 Philly flop.

It can’t get any worse than that for the Cowboys. And Jones believes his team will only get better under Garrett.

IRVING, Texas – Tony Romo’s clutch failures have been well chronicled, but his boss would be completely comfortable seeing the ball in No. 9’s hands with the season on the line.

“As far as having somebody with it all on the line, as far as somebody that can keep a play alive for a game-winning type situation, there’s no one that I’d rather have than Romo,” Jones said Friday on KRLD-FM.

That might sound crazy if you get caught up in the hype about Romo’s highly publicized late-game gaffes, such as the two turnovers he had in the fourth quarter while the Cowboys blew a 14-point lead in their last trip to the Meadowlands, a season-opening loss to the New York Jets.

But Jones’ confidence is based on demonstrated skill, to borrow a phrase from Bill Parcells.

Statistically, there is not a better fourth-quarter quarterback in the NFL right now than Romo, who has engineered four game-winning drives this season and 15 in his career. Romo’s career fourth-quarter passer rating is 101.8, having completed 63.1 percent of his passes for 5,759 yards and 43 touchdowns with 18 interceptions in the final frames of games.

Next on the list: Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers at 96.9, San Diego’s Philip Rivers at 92.4, New England’s Tom Brady at 91.1 and Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning at 89.6.

IRVING, Texas – Jerry Jones claims that Dez Bryant’s debt to a New York-based investment firm has been paid in full.

Endurance Capital Fund does not agree. The company claims Bryant is more than a year past due on approximately half of a $100,000 loan, the Boston Herald reported this week. The company intends to sue Bryant, who could be served with the lawsuit at the Cowboys’ hotel in New Jersey this weekend.

"I've got some familiarity with the details, quite a bit familiarity with the details of this business that he had this week off the field," Jerry Jones said during his Friday appearance on KRLD-FM. "I would say that that is the reason you have disagreements. I know firsthand that the bill was paid and accepted, so I can't say and wouldn't say any more about that."

Bryant settled two six-figure lawsuits over unpaid loans for items such as jewelry and tickets to sporting events earlier this year. Endurance Capital Fund works with celebrities to help them purchase luxury items.

The Cowboys are encouraged by Bryant’s progress as a professional during his second season. He ranks second on the team with 57 catches for 858 yards and has a team-high-tying nine touchdown catches.

"His maturation over the last two years has been outstanding," Jerry Jones said. "Relative to his habits with meetings, on time, timeliness, preparation and the kinds of things we were concerned about when we drafted him he's made tremendous progress."

IRVING, Texas – Working for Jerry Jones presents challenges that no other NFL head coaches have to confront.

There aren’t any other NFL owners who hold postgame press conferences and have twice-weekly radio appearances, occasionally questioning his coach’s strategic thinking. There aren’t any other NFL owners who see fit to approach his head coach on the sideline in the middle of a game to pass along information and discuss which players should sit.

It’s a good thing Jason Garrett is uniquely suited for the job.

Garrett has a good relationship with his boss and gives the owner/general manager the proper respect, but he manages to do it without showing any weakness or sacrificing authority. If you don’t think that’s hard to do, just look at Wade Phillips, whose motto was, “Whatever Jerry says.” Or look at Jimmy Johnson, whose inability to get along with his former Arkansas teammate resulted in a mid-dynasty divorce.

Garrett clearly didn’t feel it was necessary for Jones to join him on the sideline in the middle of Saturday’s first quarter. After all, there are plenty of lower-profile people in the organization who are plenty of capable of passing along that Tony Romo’s X-rays were negative and the Giants had beaten the Jets.

But there Jerry was, for all the world to see. Why?

“That's probably a question you need to ask him,” Garrett said.

Translation: It was totally unnecessary. But Garrett let the world read between the lines without saying anything remotely inflammatory.

This is the second time this season Garrett handled a potential Jerry crisis with aplomb.

Remember Jerry criticizing Garrett’s conservative play-calling late in the loss to the Patriots? Jerry said being conservative “bit us,” basically blaming Garrett for the loss.

You can debate all day whether Jerry was right, but there’s no question that it’s wrong for an owner to be so outspoken against a coach who he’s committed to keeping, something Jones admitted on his radio show a couple of days later.

Garrett managed to compliment his boss while pretty much treating the comments like white noise.

"Anybody who's ever had the good fortune to work for Jerry Jones understands that he wants to win," Garrett said that Monday. "He's very passionate about it. And I've had that experience as a player, as an assistant coach and now as a head coach.

"Like I said, anybody who's been around him understands how much he cares about winning. That's one of the things we love about working for this organization. He's very passionate about the game and he's very emotional about the game."

There’s no better way for a head coach to deal with Jerry’s quirks than to respectfully blow them off. Garrett has got that down.

Jerry Jones has no buyer’s remorse after giving left tackle Doug Free a four-year, $32 million contract this offseason.

Jones is well aware that there have been times this season when Free’s performance has been far from pretty. The most memorable such occasion is when Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul turned Free into a turnstile en route to dropping Tony Romo for a safety.

That was one of 5.5 sacks Free has allowed this season, according to Stats Inc. That is tied for the 32nd most in the league, which means it’s about average for a starting tackle. Of course, Romo’s Houdini act has avoided a few sacks that would have been blamed on Free.

Free has been called for four holding penalties, which is tied for seventh most in the NFL. His five false starts are tied for the 10th most in the league.

Jones accepts all that and believes that Free is doing his job just fine.

“When he misses out there or doesn’t get a block or gets beat, then it’s glaring because it’s usually the blind side of our quarterback,” Jones said on KRLD-FM. “But he’s really played better than those glaring missed plays or glaring times when he looks bad. He’s played better than that. He’s graded better than that.

“He’s playing winning football. I think the best way to attest to that is that offensively, we are playing winning football, so I’m not as hard on Doug as maybe some of the media has been.”