ESPN

IRVING, Texas – Jerry Jones basically bought an ad in the NFL classifieds during Monday’s pre-draft press conference, sending out the message that the Cowboys could be in trade-down mode when they get on the clock with the 18th overall pick.

PODCAST
Randy Galloway, Matt Mosley and Glenn "Stretch" Smith discuss some of the players the Cowboys should be looking at in the upcoming NFL draft. Listen

That news was met with a lot of moaning and groaning from Cowboys fans.

How can you be adamantly against trading down if you have no idea what the offer might be or which players might be available? Folks just don’t trust GM Jerry.

Should they in this situation? Let’s look at the Cowboys’ history of trading down in the first round during the Jerry era.

1991 -- No. 14 overall (obtained from New Orleans – RB Leonard Russell) to New England for No. 17 overall (traded to Washington – DT Bobby Wilson) and No. 110 overall (DE Kevin Harris).

No. 17 overall (Wilson) to Washington for No. 20 overall (traded to Detroit -- DT Kelvin Pritchett) and No. 132 overall (Darrick Brownlow).

No. 20 overall (Pritchett) to Detroit for No. 37 overall (LB Dixon Edwards), No. 64 overall (G James Richards) and No. 108 overall (DE Tony Hill).

PODCAST
How close were the Cowboys to getting John Elway in 1983? Fitzsimmons and Durrett discuss what could have been if John Elway got his wish and was traded to Dallas. Listen

These three deals have to be judged essentially as one. After all the wheeling and dealing was done, the Cowboys turned the 14th overall pick into a second-round linebacker who started for two Super Bowl title teams (Edwards), a third-round guard who never played an NFL game (Richards), a fourth-round defensive end who played 13 games in two NFL seasons (Hill) and a fifth-round linebacker who made 11 tackles in two separate one-year stints in Dallas (Brownlow).

This was a case of great value on Jimmy Johnson’s trade chart and essentially a push in reality. Russell ended up being a decent running back, rushing for 3,973 yards and 29 touchdowns in his career, and it’s not as if the Cowboys passed on a Hall of Famer who went later in the first round. Edwards contributed to three title teams, starting for two.

This deal would have been a steal if the Cowboys selected offensive tackle Erik Williams at No. 64 overall. They ended up drafting him six picks later.

1993 -- No. 29 overall (S George Teague) and No. 112 overall (Albert Fontenot) to Green Bay for No. 46 overall (WR Kevin Williams), No. 54 overall (LB Darrin Smith), No. 94 overall (RB Derrick Lassic) and No. 213 overall (LB Reggie Givens).

PODCAST
Nate Newton went undrafted in 1983, but he still feels like he was part of one of the greatest draft classes in league history. Newton joins Fitzsimmons and Durrett to discuss his draft experience from 30 years ago and his journey to three rings. Listen

Both of the second-round picks the Cowboys acquired contributed to two Super Bowl title teams. Williams was a quality punt and kick returner who started at receiver for the Cowboys’ last championship team, setting career highs with 38 catches for 613 yards and two touchdowns that season. Smith started all four of his seasons in Dallas.

Teague had a solid nine-year career, but he ended up spending most of that in Dallas anyway. Fontenot also lasted nine NFL seasons, making 81 starts. Lassic lasted 10 games, and Givens never played for the Cowboys.

Give the Cowboys a win for this deal, but it wasn’t lopsided by any measure.

1995 -- No. 28 overall (LB Derrick Brooks) to Tampa Bay for No. 41 overall (traded to Atlanta – DB Ron Davis) and No. 63 overall (OG Shane Hannah).

All Brooks did in Tampa Bay was go to 11 Pro Bowls, be named first-team All-Pro five times, win a Super Bowl and establish himself as one of the best linebackers of his generation.

Hannah started the Cowboys’ tradition of early-round offensive line busts, getting hurt in training camp and never playing a game in the NFL. They flipped Davis for a second-rounder (RB Sherman Williams) and fourth-rounder (TE Eric Bjornson), a couple of backups who combined for 10 career touchdowns.

This might be the worst draft-day deal the Cowboys ever made.

1996 -- No. 30 overall (Andre Johnson) to Washington for No. 37 overall (DE Kavika Pittman) and No. 67 overall (C Clay Shiver).

Pittman made 18 sacks in eight NFL seasons (10 in four seasons for the Cowboys). Shiver started 25 games, but that was evidence of how weak the Cowboys were at center, as he was out of the league after three years.

Johnson was a huge bust for the Redskins. He never played a game in Washington.

The Cowboys would have been better off staying put and drafting Texas product Tony Brackens in the first round. Brackens, picked No. 33 overall by Jacksonville, had 55 sacks and 27 forced fumbles in his eight-year career.

2002 -- No. 6 overall (DT Ryan Sims) to Kansas City for No. 8 overall (SS Roy Williams), No. 75 overall (CB Derek Ross) and a sixth-round pick in 2003 (WR Zuriel Smith).

A couple of Williams’ five Pro Bowl berths were reputation selections after his performance fell off, but he was a dominant force as a playmaking intimidator early in his career. That’s much more than you can say for Sims, who only had one more sack in his career than Williams did.

Ross looked like a steal when he had five picks as a rookie, but the character red flags that caused him to drop into the third round proved true. Bill Parcells got rid of him midway through Ross’ second season. Smith played nine games for the Cowboys, contributing primarily as a return specialist.

This was a good deal for Dallas, just not nearly the steal it seemed destined to be during the rookie seasons of Williams and Ross.

2004 -- No. 22 overall (QB J.P. Losman) to Buffalo for No. 43 overall (RB Julius Jones), No. 144 overall (TE Sean Ryan) and a 2005 first-rounder (DE Marcus Spears).

Spears was a serviceable player for the last eight seasons. Ryan was a nonfactor during his two years in Dallas.

But this deal comes down to Steven Jackson vs. Julius Jones.

The Cowboys decided, based strongly on the input of running backs coach Maurice Carthon, that there wasn’t much difference between the top back on the board and the backs who would be available in the second round.

Jackson has rushed for 10,135 yards and counting, more than twice as many as Jones ran for during his career. Jackson has accounted for 64 touchdowns, almost three times Jones’ total.

Oops.

2007 -- No. 22 overall (QB Brady Quinn) to Cleveland for No. 36 overall (traded to Philadelphia – QB Kevin Kolb) and a 2008 first-rounder (RB Felix Jones).

The Cowboys were tempted to pick Quinn, who they had in the top 10 on their board, but they opted to fully commit to a quarterback with 10 starts under his belt named Tony Romo. Considering that Quinn is with his fourth team and Romo just got $55 million guaranteed, it’s pretty clear that was the right call.

The Cowboys moved back into the first round to select OLB/DE Anthony Spencer, giving up third- and fifth-rounders to do so. No regrets there, with Spencer a solid player coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance and Kolb failing to make an impact in Philadelphia.

This deal would have looked like a stroke of genius if the Cowboys picked Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Ray Rice or Jamaal Charles the next year. Alas, they selected an Arkansas alum to be a change-of-pace back. Felix Jones had some flashes of brilliance, but his Dallas tenure was a pretty big disappointment given the quality of backs picked behind him.

This was still a solid deal for Dallas.

IRVING, Texas – On Tuesday I upset some people when I questioned the philosophy the Cowboys chose in 2011 and ’12 to select Tyron Smith and Morris Claiborne.

PODCAST
How close were the Cowboys to getting John Elway in 1983? Fitzsimmons and Durrett discuss what could have been if John Elway got his wish and was traded to Dallas. Listen

I believe they left too much on the table by not taking a trade with Jacksonville in 2011, and then by giving up their second-rounder to move up to get Claiborne. To justify their non-move and move, Smith and Claiborne have to be close to all-world in my view.

I believe the more picks you have, the better off you will be. Jimmy Johnson showed that. But I want to add this obvious nugget: the more early picks (top two rounds), the better off you’ll be.

But that was yesterday’s debate.

So now I present to you the argument as to why many of you believe the Cowboys did the correct thing in staying put for Smith and trading up for Claiborne: The Cowboys struggle drafting.

Since 2007, the Cowboys have drafted 47 players and only 18 remain. That’s not good. After a quick perusal of the NFC East, it’s the worst percentage (38.3%) of any team in the division. From 2007-12, Philadelphia has 28 of 59 picks left (47.5%); Washington has 24 of 48 picks (50%) and the New York Giants have 24 of 46 picks left (52%).

PODCAST
Nate Newton went undrafted in 1983, but he still feels like he was part of one of the greatest draft classes in league history. Newton joins Fitzsimmons and Durrett to discuss his draft experience from 30 years ago and his journey to three rings. Listen

Now, teams will have fewer players left from 2007-08 because most of those players have moved on to second contracts.

As we all know the Cowboys don’t have a player left from the 2009 draft, but that was a year in which they didn’t have first- or second-round picks. The Giants have five of nine picks left from ’09. The Redskins have one of six picks left from ’09. The Eagles have two of eight picks left from ’09.

In the last three years, which should be the core of a team, the Cowboys have 15 of 21 picks left. The Eagles are the worst with 23 of 33 picks. Washington is the best at 21 of 27 and the Giants have 16 of 22 picks remaining.

So am I contradicting myself from Tuesday’s post? No. The Cowboys had a chance to gain an extra second-round pick in 2011 and keep their own second-rounder last year. Four of the Cowboys’ six first-round picks from 2007-12 remain in Anthony Spencer, Dez Bryant, Smith and Claiborne. Two of their three second-rounders from that span remain in Sean Lee and Bruce Carter.

The three departures are Felix Jones, Mike Jenkins and Martellus Bennett. They weren’t busts, but they weren’t hits either. The best thing you can say is they played out their contracts.

IRVING, Texas – The NFL’s release of the schedule has me back to wondering, so we break out an offseason version of Five Wonders, Cowboys’ schedule style.

I wonder if the Cowboys told the league they were a bit tired of starting the year on the road. In 2011 and ’12, the Cowboys played their first two games on the road. This year’s opener vs. the Giants marks only the third time in 11 years the Cowboys have opened at home. The last came in 2007 when they beat the Giants, 45-35, in Wade Phillips’ debut. Before that it was Bill Parcells’ debut in 2003 vs. Atlanta. At least recently the schedule has had to factor in the Cowboys’ Arlington neighbors, the Rangers. With Ron Washington’s crew out of town, the Cowboys open on Sunday Night Football against the Giants. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. They are 0-4 vs. New York at Cowboys Stadium.

I wonder if the Cowboys told the league they were a bit tired of ending the year on the road. This year’s finale vs. Philadelphia marks only the fourth time in 11 years they have closed the year at home. The Cowboys are 1-9 in their last 10 season-enders. The win? Against the Eagles in 2009. So that’s a good thing. Perhaps.

PODCAST
ESPN's Ed Werder joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the upcoming NFL draft and the best strategy for the Cowboys. Listen

If you wondered when the last time the Cowboys had a bye this late in the year, I’ve got your back. You have to go back to 1990 when the Cowboys had a later bye week than the one they have this year. That came Dec. 9, 1990, which was Jimmy Johnson’s second season. This year’s bye comes Nov. 17, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing with the 10-day break coming after Thanksgiving. That time off will allow the Cowboys time to heal up if necessary. And health is as important as just about anything late in a season.

I wonder if other teams told the league that the Cowboys need to play on the road entering their Thanksgiving Day game. I’ve always felt it was unfair that most of the time recently the Cowboys were able to play at home before the Thursday game and other teams had to travel. This year, the Cowboys are at the Giants leading into the holiday game against Oakland. With a 3:25 p.m. kickoff at MetLife Stadium, the Cowboys are looking at an early-morning landing home. The short-week advantage is at least mitigated some with the road game.

I wonder if the Cowboys will ever lose their national appeal. They have four games in prime time: three on NBC (NY Giants, Washington, New Orleans) and a Monday Night Football matchup at Chicago. All for a team that has missed the playoffs in four of the last five seasons. And the Cowboys will not play on NFL Network for the second straight year and Jerry Jones is the chairman of the NFL Network Committee. Seems weird.

IRVING, Texas – With Chicago setting its sights on Bruce Arians, Darrell Bevell or Marc Trestman as the Bears next head coach, Cowboys special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis has been told he is no longer in the running, according to a source.

DeCamillis interviewed with Chicago general manager Phil Emery less than a week after the season ended, and from all accounts did well, but the Bears have focused their search on offensive coaches. Arians is Indianapolis’ offensive coordinator and served as interim head coach during Chuck Pagano’s fight against leukemia. Bevell is Seattle’s offensive coordinator, and Trestman, a former Jimmy Johnson assistant, is the head coach of the Montreal Allouettes.

This is the second straight year DeCamillis has been on the head coaching radar. He received interest from Jacksonville last year but did not interview.

DeCamillis has been the Cowboys’ special teams’ coach since 2009. Oakland had sought to hire him last year as assistant head coach to Dennis Allen, but the Cowboys blocked the move.

IRVING, Texas – If there is a coach that Jason Garrett follows more than any other, it’s Nick Saban.

It’s not Jimmy Johnson. It’s not any of the other coaches he played for in the NFL, from Jim Fassel and Sean Payton and Jon Gruden.

It’s Saban.

If you’re tired of hearing about Garrett’s “process” talk, blame Saban. That’s where Garrett got it from. He was Saban’s quarterbacks coach in Miami for two years and he likes to say he has notebooks filled with information of all the things he learned from Saban.

Saban was asked about the “process” leading into the BCS Championship game against Notre Dame.

“Well, the process is really what you have to do day in and day out to be successful,” Saban told reporters. “We try to define the standard that we want everybody to sort of work toward, adhere to, and do it on a consistent basis. And the things that I talked about before, being responsible for your own self-determination, having a positive attitude, having great work ethic, having discipline to be able to execute on a consistent basis, whatever it is you’re trying to do, those are the things that we try to focus on, and we don’t try to focus as much on the outcomes as we do on being all that you can be.

“Eliminate the clutter and all the things that are going on outside and focus on the things that you can control with how you sort of go about and take care of your business. That’s something that’s ongoing, and it can never change.”

Garrett might not have uttered that word for word, but it’s pretty darn close.

What Saban has built in Alabama is what Garrett is trying to build with the Cowboys.

It iseasier to do it in college because you get to pick the best players, and Saban can put four national championship rings on the table when he is trying to recruit a player.

In the NFL, you don’t get to pick the best players the same way, and there is something called a salary cap that oftentimes can get in the way.

But if you believe in the “process,” as Garrett does and has seen evidence of it working, then you hold on to what you think is right and wrong, important and not important.

Who knows if it will ever work for Garrett and the Cowboys, but the plan is sound.

An open letter to the fans of the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins:

Get excited.

You might not need my permission, or my urging. You might already be there -- as excited as you've been about a professional football game in a very long time. And if that's the case, good. You should be. Sunday night's game at FedEx Field for the NFC East title has everything any of you could possibly want. And while some of you will end your night deeply disappointed in the result while others celebrate a playoff appearance you couldn't possibly have imagined two months ago, these next 53 hours are your time to feel like kids on Christmas Eve. Get excited.

Regardless of which team you root for, think about how far you've come to get to this point. It started on the day before free agency, when the NFL took a huge chunk of salary-cap money away from each of these two teams and redistributed it among the others for what to this day continues to look like no good reason. The owner who most vocally championed and reveled in that punishment for your teams' spending during a season that featured no official spending rules was John Mara, the owner of the division-rival and Super Bowl champion New York Giants. His team can't win the NFC East. Yours can. His team needs a minor miracle Sunday just to get into the playoffs. Your team has control of its own destiny. If you want to cackle in glee about that particular irony, that's your right. Get satisfaction.

If the Cowboys are your team, you were 3-5 on Election Day, losers of two straight heartbreakers to the Giants and Falcons and wondering when anything was ever going to change. Defensive starters were dropping like flies, DeMarco Murray was out with a foot injury that refused to heal and Tony Romo was throwing interceptions around as though they were "I Voted" stickers. You were two-and-a-half games out of first place behind the team that took the division from you last December, and you wanted everybody gone. If you want to look back over the last seven games and wonder what made Romo stop throwing picks or marvel at the way Jason Garrett has managed the second half or tell everyone it's about time Dez Bryant turned into one of the best receivers in the league, go ahead. Get amazed.

If you are a Redskins fan, you were 3-6 heading into the bye week. Your coach, Mike Shanahan, was defending comments he made after a miserable loss to Carolina about using the rest of this season for evaluations. You were pleased, obviously, with the brilliance of rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, and of the belief that the future looked bright. But you were still staring at a second half of the season that was going to feel too sadly familiar -- watching from the sideline while the teams you hate fought it out for the division title. If you want to slap your friends on the back and shout, "Did you ever think we'd win six in a row after the bye and be in first place in Week 17?", be my guest. Get proud.

Whichever of these teams is your favorite, you have to be happy that this rivalry means something again. Cowboys-Redskins is one of the most historically intense rivalries the NFL has. Popular wisdom holds that the reason the Cowboys were kept in the NFC East when the divisions realigned, in spite of good geographic reasons to move them elsewhere, was to preserve the Cowboys-Redskins rivalry by allowing them to continue playing each other twice a year. So if this week gives you reason to think about Tom Landry and Joe Gibbs and Jimmy Johnson and John Riggins and Michael Irvin and Darrell Green and Troy Aikman and Joe Theismann ... good. It's time to hate again -- time to remember why that star bugs you so much, time to get outwardly indignant about a politically incorrect team nickname that wouldn't bother you otherwise. Get trash-talking.

Get jacked. Get geeked. Get fired up. This is a big, big game, folks -- the kind of game that justifies every kind of the silly, overblown enthusiasm sports fans can muster. If you're a Redskins fan or a Cowboys fan, Sunday is your night. And the days leading up to it are for getting excited.

IRVING, Texas -- After Sunday's loss to New Orleans, DeMarco Murray was asked if he knew much about the Dallas Cowboys' rivalry with the Washington Redskins.

"Nope," he said matter-of-factly.

It's not Murray's fault. After all, he is only 24 years old.

"Players are young," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "Tyron Smith was born in 1990. You've got to keep in mind of that. But there is always a great sense of tradition when you play these games in the NFC East. These games go back a long way. A lot of great teams, a lot of great coaches and players have been involved in these rivalries, so, again, we are excited to be part of this one."

Sunday's game at FedEx Field will be for the NFC East championship and a home playoff game, and it could rekindle a rivalry that was among the NFL's best.

The Cowboys and Redskins have not played such a meaningful game since the 1982 NFC Championship Game.

There have been moments -- the only win in Jimmy Johnson's first season in 1989, the victory in '91 that ended the Redskins' undefeated run and kick-started the Cowboys' playoff push that year, the return of Joe Gibbs to the sideline, the Redskins' comeback when the Triplets were inducted into the Ring of Honor -- but nothing quite as sustainable as the 1970s and '80s.

Is the rivalry back? Click here for the rest of the story.

PHILADELPHIA -- Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said the week leading to the Philadelphia game was a hard week.

It started Sunday morning when the Cowboys were in Atlanta and news surfaced that New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton could become a free agent because the league didn't approve his contract extension.

Payton's potential departure led to speculation that Jones was ready to make a move, especially with the Cowboys in a two-game losing streak and at 3-5 overall.

Then former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson disputed Jones' comments that he made all the personnel moves during the 1990s.

Jones was at a speaking event in Dallas on Friday, where he received an award from North Texas, and wasn't made available to reporters. But Sunday afternoon, he finally addressed the Cowboys' difficult week.

"This has been a hard week for everybody, a real hard week," Jones said after the Cowboys' victory over the Eagles. "I think everybody kept their head down and kept going and we have something to feel good about. Maybe we’ve gotten out of here on the road and can do some good when we get back home."

PHILADELPHIA -- Jerry Jones doesn’t want to get into a back and forth with Jimmy Johnson.

PODCAST
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones weighs in on the team's win against the Eagles and says he wishes former coach Jimmy Johnson the best. Listen

Jones declined to respond to Johnson’s critical comments this week that the Cowboys have a “country club atmosphere.” Nor does Jones want to continue debating about whether the owner/general manager or head coach deserves more credit for constructing the roster that won three Super Bowls in the 1990s.

“You know, I wish Jimmy the absolute best,” Jones said after Sunday’s win over the Eagles. “I really do. I want him to be well thought of -- I know he is -- by our fans and by all the people who are Cowboys fans. I’m not going to talk about his comments in any way, negative or anything like that.

“I just wish him the best. Genuinely wish him the very best.”

Jones did acknowledge that it was a difficult week for him due to all the criticism that came his way, from Johnson and many others in the media. Johnson, a FOX analyst, was among those who also speculated that coach Jason Garrett’s job is at stake the rest of the season.

While Jones admits the criticism bothers him, he doesn’t think that’s the case with Garrett.

“One of the things I expect him to always be able to do is really handle criticism,” Jones said. “I think he can handle rough talk. He can handle rough. We look at players sometimes and say, ‘That guy can handle hard talk. He can handle hard coaching.’ Well, I think Jason can handle hard times and come on out.

“I know he looks to the long haul. He should be looking to the long haul. He’s a young guy and has got a bright future ahead of him.”

IRVING, Texas -- While some outside of the Dallas Cowboys organization wonder about Jason Garrett's head coaching future, executive vice president Stephen Jones doesn't.

"I won't even comment on that, period," Jones said Thursday. "That's ridiculous."

Garrett has posted a 16-16 record since taking over midway through the 2010 season for Wade Phillips, but the Cowboys have lost nine of their last 13 games. The Cowboys are 3-5 this season and have lost two straight as they head to Philadelphia on Sunday.

With the possibility of Sean Payton becoming a free-agent coach after his suspension ends, there has been much speculation between the New Orleans coach and Cowboys.

Jones, however, believes Garrett is putting the right culture in place for long-term success.

"I think we're going in the right direction," Jones said. "I think there's accountability. I think our players play hard. I think we not only have good football players, I think we have good people. I think one thing about our team you can look at it and they're playing hard.

They're playing hard till the end. They handle adversity well. The Giants (game), a lot of teams not playing hard, that aren't being led would've turned it in at 23-0 and our team fought back. I thought they did an outstanding job. They didn't finish and that's been our problem and that we've got to do. I don't think there's any magical answer to this. It's just got to continue to work hard and we have to finish.
Close isn't good enough. We've got to win football games."

Jones acknowledged the Cowboys have underachieved so far.

"We had higher expectations than this," Jones said. "Obviously you're disappointed with our record, but we've got to pay better. We've got to play better. We've got to win. At the end of the day you are what you are. We're 3-5 and we've got to improve."

Criticism of owner and general manager Jerry Jones has stepped up this week with the team's start and with comments made by former coach Jimmy Johnson.

Stephen Jones would not address any of Johnson's assertions about who had control when Johnson was coach or the "country club" feel where players do not fear for their jobs.

"I think the organization is (accountable for the poor start)," Jones said. "We all work hard at it. We all have a lot of input into this. I do. It's unfair that Jerry gets all of it. It's unfair that Jason gets all of it. It's unfair that Tony (Romo) gets it. We're all in this together. Whatever criticism comes our way, we deserve it. We have to be better than that. We owe our fans more than this. We need to have a better football team out there."

State of the Union: Archer | Watkins | Broken Promises | Exit Poll | Rank the Roster

IRVING, Texas -- Wednesday was a busy day for former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson. He called out owner Jerry Jones for saying he was the general manager when they were together in the 1990s.

Now Johnson is raising questions about the atmosphere at Valley Ranch.

In an interview on the Dan Patrick Show, Johnson put the Cowboys on blast again.

"All the players in this league think they’re self-motivated and that’s a bunch of bull because there are only a handful that are self-motivated," Johnson said. "So you’ve got to motivate these players through some respect but the No. 1 motivator is fear. Fear of letting down your teammates, being embarrassed or fear of losing the job. Where is the fear in Dallas? There’s no fear in Dallas. It’s a country club where everybody is buddies."

We think coach Jason Garrett has changed the climate at Valley Ranch sharply from how it was under Wade Phillips. Of course, Phillips changed the atmosphere from how it was under Bill Parcells. Each time, players said the change was good.

UPDATE:Garrett was asked about Johnson's comments on Thursday morning and didn't offer much of a response.

"I don't really have any comment on that," Garrett said. "We do things the way we do things here and from a football standpoint we believe we practice the right way, we meet the right way and create the right atmosphere of urgency for our players it's what I learned as a player and coach in this league. And that's what we're trying to create with our football team."

And the players' view, courtesy of Jason Witten:

“I didn’t hear about it, but obviously he’s a great coach here in this franchise and won a lot of Super Bowls,” Witten said. “I haven’t seen him around a lot. The guys are working hard. Ultimately (talk like Johnson’s) is going to happen, but I don’t think as a player you can worry about that. You’ve got to fix it. We know the expectations. Trust me, we feel it every day and so I don’t think you allow that (talk) to get in but obviously got a lot of respect for him.”

Johnson doesn't seem to have anything personal against the Cowboys overall, but he protested Jones' comments about how he was the general manager when he first purchased the team in 1989.

Johnson has formed a good relationship with Garrett in terms of being a mentor. In the same interview with Patrick, Johnson questioned whether Garrett would remain the man in charge at Valley Ranch.

"Jason Garrett is probably coaching for his job for the rest of the year," Johnson said. "This game with Philadelphia on Fox may decide the future of coaches and players with those two teams."

Maybe Johnson was channeling Bob Arum, the boxing promoter who hypes fights. And with the Eagles and Cowboys at 3-5, the loser most likely will see their playoff hopes disappear. So creating drama is fine.

The quarterback, Tony Romo, who's got one year left on his deal, might also be on the way out according to Johnson.

"I would extend Tony Romo unless I had somebody better, and they don’t have anybody better," Johnson said.

IRVING, Texas – In an interview on the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday, former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson called Jerry Jones’ claims that the owner and general manager has called the football shots since buying the team in 1989 a “crock.”

“Jerry started putting all those titles on himself after I left,” Johnson said. “He didn’t call himself general manager and president and all that stuff when I was there. He was just the owner. Because it was in my contract that I had total responsibility for all football decisions. It was in my contract, and he didn’t allow anybody to have that in their contract after I left.”

However, a quick scan of the Cowboys’ media guides from 1989-93 show Jones with the title of president and general manager.

The debate of control led to Johnson’s departure after the Cowboys won their second Super Bowl with him as coach and has been an issue among the fan base since Johnson’s departure of a dynasty that could have been even better.

In four years as Miami’s coach and personnel director from 1996-99, Johnson went 36-28 and went to the playoffs three times with a 2-3 postseason record but never advanced to the conference title game. In his final game he was beaten by Jacksonville, 62-7, in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Maybe he missed Jerry?

IRVING, Texas -- In his first 29 games, the best coach in the Dallas Cowboys' illustrious history went 5-21-3. In his first 29 games, the second-best coach in franchise history went 7-22.

Oh, the nasty things folks said about Tom Landry in the early '60s and about Jimmy Johnson after he replaced Landry in 1989. Of course, at the time, fans had no clue about the legacy each man would leave.

When Landry was criticized early in his tenure, Tex Schramm responded by giving him a 10-year contract. When Jimmy came under scrutiny, Jerry Jones gave him a long-term extension.

If Jerry still believes in Jason Garrett, his hand-picked coach, then the owner should let the players, fans and media know he has no reservations whatsoever about the long-term direction of his franchise.

He should give Garrett, 15-14 in his first 29 games, a five-year extension.

Right now.

That's right, Jerry should lock up Red J for the foreseeable future before the month ends.

Learn the reasons why here.

IRVING, Texas – A lot of times coaches making the jump from college football to the NFL struggle. There are a variety of reasons and some of it has to do with the organizations they join.

Jimmy Johnson proved to be one of the exceptions when he came to the Cowboys,

Tampa Bay’s Greg Schiano, who came to the NFL from Rutgers, is hoping to be more like Johnson than, say, Steve Spurrier.

Schiano has NFL-experienced assistants and coordinators and he also has former Cowboys assistant coach Butch Davis on the staff.

“One of the reasons I wanted to hire Butch, other than the fact that he was available and he’s an excellent football coach, is he could help me maybe navigate some of the minefields, some of the things I’m not aware of,” Schiano said. “He’s been a big help in the time we’ve been together here.”

Schiano did not seek out Johnson’s counsel as he made the jump, but Davis and former coordinator Dave Wannstedt are friends.

“Other than shaking his hand, I don’t know coach that well,” Schiano said, “but Butch and Dave all those guys are close. I’ve got to believe there’s a lot of Jimmy Johnson in what we do as far as organization and football and all those things.”

DALLAS -- A lot of folks will forever blame Jerry Jones (and his ego) for the death of the Cowboys’ 1990s dynasty.

That shouldn’t be so, according to Jimmy Johnson.

The perception is that Jones pushed Johnson out of Valley Ranch after the Cowboys won back-to-back Super Bowls because the owner/general manager wanted a bigger share of the spotlight. Johnson insists that isn’t the reality.

“I’d done my deal and needed to move on,” Johnson said during Wednesday’s PwC-SMU Athletic Forum luncheon. “Jerry Jones catches more abuse -- he doesn’t deserve abuse. I was going to south Florida.”

Johnson described leaving Dallas as the most difficult decision of his career. He is adamant, however, that it was his decision to walk away after the Cowboys won Super Bowl XXVIII.

“It’s something I had to do,” Johnson said, adding that he was consumed with coaching and essentially an absentee father for his five years in Dallas. “I knew I was going to do it, but I had to do it. Sometimes you’ve got things you’ve got to do.

“It had nothing to do with anybody or anything. It was just me. I had done my job. For five years, I lived (at the facility). I didn’t have a life.”

Not that there wasn’t tension between Johnson and Jones, the former roommates during their days as offensive guards on Arkansas’ 1964 national championship team.

Jones’ quote about 500 coaches being capable of winning a Super Bowl with those Cowboys -- a point proven with the hiring of Barry Switzer -- will live on in infamy. But that’s all water under the bridge.

Jerry has said that he would seriously consider Johnson for the Ring of Honor, although no inductions are planned this season. Jimmy admits that he roots for the Cowboys from the Fox NFL studios in Los Angeles.

“Nothing would make me happier than to see him get another ring this year,” Johnson said. “I’d love to see that.”