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At the end of last year's NFL draft, Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones announced the signing of undrafted free agent guard Ronald Leary from Memphis. The Cowboys guaranteed $214,000 to Leary with the hope he would make the 53-man roster out of camp.

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Leary didn't, instead playing on the practice squad for the bulk of the season until the Cowboys had to promote him to the 53-man roster after the Oakland Raiders put in a claim for him.

Leary improved as the season progressed and again has a shot to make the 53-man roster in 2013.

Fast-forward to this year when the Cowboys signed undrafted linebacker Brandon Magee over the weekend. Magee received a $70,000 signing bonus, more than any seventh-round pick from last year's draft.

The Cowboys were interested in drafting Magee in the middle rounds, but his size (5-foot-11, 229 pounds) and health (he injured his elbow in Arizona State's bowl game) made selecting him a risky proposition. However, the Cowboys were impressed with his 113 total tackles last season at Arizona State, which earned him second-team All-Pac-12 honors.

Magee is completely healthy, according to his agent, Blake Baratz, and looking forward to next week's rookie minicamp.

The Cowboys project Magee as a strongside or weakside linebacker because of his speed (4.68-second 40-yard dash at Arizona State's pro day) and ability to make plays on the ball.

Some NFL teams were a little scared off by Magee's baseball ambitions. The Boston Red Sox own his rights, but Magee's desire is to play in the NFL.

The Cowboys are looking for good fits in Monte Kiffin's 4-3 defense, and once they find someone, Jones will make sure he spends the money to grab him, much like he did with Leary.

This year's pet project, if you will, is Magee, who will have to play well on special teams and on the defense with the backup units to make the roster.

IRVING, Texas – If we’ve learned anything about the Cowboys, it’s that they love their defensive line.

“We believe the defensive line is a strength,” became a default position for just about everybody in the organization during the NFL draft.

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But is it really?

When Monte Kiffin was in Tampa Bay, the strength of the defense was the line with Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice and Booger McFarland. Same for Rod Marinelli in Chicago when he had Julius Peppers, Henry Melton and Israel Idonije racking up sacks.

Take DeMarcus Ware out of the equation. He will continue to be one of the most dominant pass rushers in the NFL. The move from outside linebacker to defensive end will not be too much for him, but it has to be noted that he is coming off major shoulder surgery and has suffered some other nicks the last couple of seasons.

Anthony Spencer is a curious case. He had a career-high 11 sacks last year, but in his first five seasons he never had more than six in a season. One AFC personnel man believed Spencer’s sack boost came in part because he was moved around more than in the past. Bill Polian has said Spencer will be a great fit for this defense. If Spencer is consistently in the same spot opposite Ware, then does he go back to a six-sack player? And he is lighter than most strong-side defensive ends Kiffin and Marinelli have employed.

Jay Ratliff was a difference-maker at one point. He was a disruptive player, incredibly difficult to block and could get to the quarterback. Notice the past tense? Ratliff’s sack total has decreased in each of the last five years and he missed 10 games because of injuries last year. He turns 32 in August. Maybe he is the perfect fit to play the Sapp role here, but how much tread is left?

Jason Hatcher has never had more than 4.5 sacks in a season and he will be making a position switch. Are his numbers a product of the fact that 3-4 defensive ends just don’t have the opportunity to get after the quarterback? Perhaps. He turns 31 in July and is in the last year of his contract.

Tyrone Crawford did some nice things as a rookie but didn’t record a sack. Sean Lissemore had one sack but was slowed by an ankle injury. Kyle Wilber will move to defensive end from outside linebacker this year but has the look of a tweener. Then there’s Ben Bass, Robert Callaway and Ikponmowasa Igbinosun.

Kiffin and Marinelli apparently have told Jerry Jones & Co. that the defensive linemen on the roster will be just fine, given how the team went about the draft and has looked at free agency so far. Rob Ryan said the same thing to Jones about the talent on hand when he showed up two years ago; how did that work out?

IRVING, Texas – With the 18th pick in the first round, the Cowboys could make their pick sometime around 10 p.m. That’s a lot of time to sit around and wait.

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Throughout the week, the Cowboys have run through every possible scenario so when they are on the clock (or even a little earlier than that) they will have a pick ready. It’s like going in with multiple game plans on a Sunday.

Best-case scenario: Somehow, some way Jonathan Cooper or Chance Warmack are available. History says they will there because five offensive linemen have not gone so early in thirty-plus years, but it seems like there is a lot of evidence to the contrary.

Cooper would be the preference but Warmack would be a nice pickup, too. They would walk in as Day 1 starters, which has become something of a catch-phrase around the Cowboys here this week. They would upgrade the weakest part of the team.

The only way this happens is if a quarterback or two or a wide receiver or two go early. Perhaps a running back. They need some unexpected moves that would push Warmack (most likely) down to them.

Likely scenario: The Cowboys take a defensive lineman, like Sheldon Richardson or Sylvester Williams, or safety Kenny Vaccaro.

As of this moment, I believe they would take Richardson if they cannot move back and the offensive linemen are gone. He can play both interior spots with the idea of him becoming the Warren Sapp for this Monte Kiffin defense. Williams is more of the traditional run stopper. Both would bring value to the defense.

Vaccaro is the top safety and he would fill an immediate need. Does he slip to No. 18? The Cowboys worked him out privately and had him at Valley Ranch for a visit.

Of the three, Williams figures to be the guy most likely to be available.

Second-best case scenario: Trade down in the first round and pick up extra picks.

Some might believe this would be the best-case scenario, but the offensive line needs big help.

If the Cowboys can move down, then that would open up more players to them and fit with their draft board more. They are in a no-man’s land right now where there is a gap in talent.

Depending on how far back they go, this would give the Cowboys looks at offensive lineman D.J. Fluker and Justin Pugh, defensive end Bjoern Werner and safeties Eric Reid and Jonathan Cyprien.

A pick of Fluker would seem to mean Doug Free would not be back. Pugh could be a walk-in starter at guard. Werner would fill a need as a backup defensive end with the eye on him starting in the future with Anthony Spencer on a one-year deal. Reid and Cyprien would be walk-in starters, too.

Worst-cast scenario: Everybody listed above is gone and they can’t trade down.

They must be willing to make a pick and this is where Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert comes into the mix. He could be their best player available but drafting a first-round tight end doesn’t help them that much in 2013 or give Jason Garrett the best chance to win now.

Eifert will be a terrific player, but Garrett has not shown the ability to work multiple tight end packages effectively like New England has. The Cowboys couldn’t make it work with second-rounders Anthony Fasano or Martellus Bennett behind Jason Witten.

Wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, Werner, Cyprien and Fluker would also be in this mix. Picking any of them at No. 18 would likely be higher than the Cowboys would want.

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Several current and former Dallas Cowboys players gathered Sunday night at the Gaylord Texas to support the Taste of the NFL: The Ultimate Cowboys Tailgate Party.

But this wasn't any normal party. Proceeds from the event went to the North Texas Food Bank. The Cowboys have raised more than $1 million and more than four million meals for needy families in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

The event was hosted by DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher.

"This means a lot," Hatcher said. "I've heard about this event in the eight years since I’ve been in the league. It’s one of those things I can relate to. I was one of those kids who would leave school in the summer and say, 'Man, I can’t get two meals.' That’s why I’m here today. I’ll put any time and effort I got into a situation like this I can relate to."

Among the current and former Cowboys in attendance: Nate Livings, Caleb McSurdy, Brandon Carr, Rob Callaway, Tony Casillas, Nate Newton, Preston Pearson and Daryl Johnston.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, defensive line coach Rod Marinelli and secondary coach Jerome Henderson also supported the event.

IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys’ move to the 4-3 scheme under new coordinator Monte Kiffin has altered what kind of linebackers the Cowboys are looking at entering the draft.

From 2005 to 2012, the Cowboys drafted 12 linebackers, excluding Stephen Hodge on 2009. The average height and weight was 6-2½, 247 pounds.

To move to the 3-4, the Cowboys needed bigger linebackers to withstand more direct play with offensive lineman. Most of them were defensive ends in college. The biggest was DeMarcus Ware (255 pounds, 2005). Ware and Kyle Wilber were the tallest (6-foot-4). The shortest was Jason Williams (6-foot-1, 2009) and the lightest was Bruce Carter (240, 2011).

The scheme switch this year has the Cowboys looking at smaller linebackers like they had for years in guys like Dexter Coakley and Dat Nguyen.

So far there are nine known linebackers that have caught the Cowboys' eye in the draft process either through top-30 visits, Dallas Day tryouts or private workouts: Brandon Magee, Sio Moore, Gerald Hodges, Taylor Reed, Ja’Gared Davis, R.J. Young, Alex Elkins, Jarvis Wilson and Sean Porter.

The average height amd weight: 6-0½, 237 pounds.

Kiffin’s scheme is built on speed at every level. Linebackers have to be able to run. Moore is the heaviest at 245 pounds, but is just 6-foot-1. Magee is the lightest at 223 pounds and at 5-foot-11 is the shortest, along with Reed and Young.

Undoubtedly the Cowboys have looked at more linebackers, but that sample size should give you the prototype at linebacker.

ESPN's pre-draft "On the Clock" series takes a look at the Dallas Cowboys. These are roundtable discussions with Mel Kiper, Jr., Trent Dilfer and Chris Mortensen that preview the draft for each team and discuss other issues as well. Mel identifies interior offensive line as the Cowboys' top draft priority, then lists playmaking safety, defensive tackle and running back as others. The good thing for the Cowboys, as the group points out, is that this year's draft is deep in all of those areas, and with a good draft the Cowboys should be able to improve their current roster in a way that impacts the 2013 season.

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The discussion then turns to Dallas' new defensive coaches -- coordinator Monte Kiffin and line coach Rod Marinelli. Dilfer oozes respect for both men, having known them from their days in Tampa Bay, and puts forth a belief that Marinelli and Kiffin will make playmakers out of the players already on the Cowboys' defense. He thinks Rob Ryan's defense was "reaction-based" and that the new defensive coaches on the staff are more about forcing the action.

Mort throws a bit of cold water on that theory, pointing out the problems Kiffin had stopping Chip Kelly's Oregon offense while Kiffin was USC's defensive coordinator. But we will see, of course. The 4-3 makes sense for Dallas given its current defensive personnel, and if they can stay healthy this time and if one of the safeties they have on the roster (or someone they find in the draft) can become that playmaker, the defense should be better than people are giving it credit for.

The Cowboys finished each of the last two seasons at 8-8, and coach Jason Garrett said "that's not good enough."

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Yet, despite again missing the playoffs, Garrett still believes the arrow is moving up for his team.

"We feel good about some of the things we’ve done the last couple years, being in these games where we have a chance to win the division," Garrett said. "But we know that’s not good enough. We have a very urgent mentality. You’ve heard me say this before. I’ve been in this league for a long time as a player and a coach, and there isn’t a day I haven’t been urgent. That’s just the way this league is. It’s a competitive league, and anybody who wants to be successful in it, that sense of urgency is critical.

"But you want to make good decisions, you want to create the right kind of culture, you want to create the right kind of identity for your football team. We’re in the process of doing that.”

Owner Jerry Jones has said the same thing, and he doesn't believe wholesale roster changes are needed, despite the .500 mark the last two seasons.

But are the Cowboys really better?

The offensive line is still inconsistent, specifically in the interior. The running game, at least in 2012, finished 31st in the NFL.

While it's good that Garrett has expressed a sense of urgency and Jones has challenged the coaching staff to make players better, the team must produce on the field. The Cowboys made numerous changes to the coaching staff, starting with new defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. Garrett and Jones each praised new receivers coach Derek Dooley as a positive influence.

"I felt good about the talent and I felt good about Jason," Jones said. "I wanted us and our fans to take advantage of Jason’s tenure in two-and-a-half years as head coach and six years as offensive coordinator with (Tony) Romo. I didn’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. I think we’ll benefit (from assistant coaching changes) on both sides of the ball and special teams. Jason, as head coach, is going to be dealing with some new ideas, some new emphasis in each of these coaches' philosophies and their ideas."

To help preview who might be on the Dallas Cowboys’ board for the NFL draft, ESPNDallas.com has identified five players at five key positions that we’d like to learn more about. Along those lines, we’ve asked former Cowboys assistant coach Glenn “Stretch” Smith – the official scout of Galloway & Company – to study tape of each player and give his thoughts.

No. 5 defensive lineman: Sharrif Floyd

Position: Defensive tackle

Height/weight: 6-foot-3, 297 pounds

School: Florida

Why he’s on the radar: To get Floyd, the Cowboys would have to trade up in the first round, like they did last year to acquire Morris Claiborne. It might be a high asking price, but Floyd could be the perfect fit in Monte Kiffin’s defense. He plays with power and moves well. There’s some thought Floyd might be too much of a tease, but line coach Rod Marinelli is considered one of the best in the business and should be able to get the most out of him.

Projection: First round

Stretch Truths: For a big man, Floyd has excellent speed and agility. He ran the 40 in 4.92 seconds. ... He is an excellent 3 technique in a 4-3 defense. ... This kid is a three-down player. ... Great hands. Can punch and shed. ... Gets penetration with a quick first step. ... Athletic, can change direction. ... His only weakness is he is a little high-cut and not a big bull-rush inside tackle.

PHOENIX -- If there's anybody who believes in new Cowboys defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, it's Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

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Tomlin worked with Kiffin and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli in Tampa Bay.

"Monte is going to be great in particular, Monte in a combination with Rod, that's a lethal combination," said Tomlin, who worked with the duo from 2001 to 2005 as a defensive backs coach. "These guys are football purists. I imagine they're somewhere in the bowels of that facility right now, man, with trash cans talking about how to defend the A, B, C gap.

"I grew up professionally with those guys. They're special people. I wish them nothing but the best. I acknowledge if you're competing against them, you got your hands full for a lot of reasons. I've been blessed to be associated with those guys."

Kiffin encountered some lean years in the college game following his son, Lane, especially last season at USC. He resigned after the season and was open to a return to the NFL.

In some ways, Monte Kiffin might be back in his comfort zone in the NFL instead of college.

"I don't think Monte is ever out of his comfort zone," Tomlin joked. "If you asked me that when he was in L.A., he's in his comfort zone; if they're snapping a ball and he's got 11 to defend it, he's in his comfort zone."

Kiffin is changing the Cowboys' defense from a 3-4 alignment to a 4-3. The Cowboys believe they have the personnel to pull this off. They will move outside linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer to defensive end and move defensive end Jason Hatcher to defensive tackle alongside Jay Ratliff.

The linebackers remain the same in Sean Lee (middle) and Bruce Carter (weak side), but the strongside linebacker spot has to be filled. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones has pegged Kyle Wilber in that spot.

Tomlin doesn't believe the switch will be a problem for Kiffin and Marinelli.

"How those guys work, I really think it's insignificant when you talk about whether or not you got four guys with their hand on the ground or three guys with their hand on the ground," Tomlin said. "One thing that they're going to do is they're going to be fundamentally sound, their going to play responsible football and they're going to play extremely hard with the 11 men that they have. I look forward to watching their tape. I think there's a lot of people in the NFL looking forward to watching their tape. Those are the type of guys, when they put tape out there, it's food for all of us. It's going to be fun."

So I've been trying to find something to write about the Dallas Cowboys even though they have no cap room and aren't signing anyone, because this is an NFC East blog and should hit on all four of the teams as much as possible. And I found this from Bryan Broaddus on the team's website about defensive tackle Jay Ratliff and the way he'll fit into Monte Kiffin's 4-3 defensive alignment. Bryan's excited because he thinks Ratliff is the kind of player who will flourish in the 4-3, and that he can play either of its defensive tackle positions well:

In this scheme, the defensive coaches want their guys to play with more speed and quickness, which is right down the alley for Ratliff. There is a reason that Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett never wavered about Ratliff coming back for this 2013 [season] despite the legal problem he faces in the coming months. He was built to play in this scheme.

This got me thinking. Sure, Ratliff's a knucklehead for blowing up at Jerry Jones in the locker room. Worse yet, he was arrested and charged with DUI a month and a half after teammate Jerry Brown was killed in a drunk driving accident for which teammate Josh Brent was charged. And sure, he had no more sacks last year than you or I did. But when healthy and on the field, Ratliff is still an excellent player, capable of disrupting an offense from an interior line position.

Then that got me thinking that Ratliff isn't exactly alone on the roster. On the defensive side of the ball, DeMarcus Ware is an excellent player. Cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne are very good. Linebacker Sean Lee is outstanding, and fellow linebacker Bruce Carter sure looked headed that way last season before his injury. Jason Hatcher was excellent last season, and so was Anthony Spencer, whether he's worth his $10.6 million franchise tender or not.

On offense, the Cowboys have excellent players at quarterback, tight end and both starting wide receiver spots. They have a very good running back and left tackle. Can you find fault with any or all of these players? Sure. But on balance, I just gave you 14 starting positions at which the Cowboys are at least above average, and in several cases much better.

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Calvin Watkins joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to talk about Martellus Bennett's progression since he left the Cowboys, the definition of a Tony Romo apologist and the Cowboys' salary cap situation. Listen

The point? Well, as Cowboys fans bemoan the lack of cap space and resultant lack of activity in this first week of free agency, it might be worth remembering that there are some really good players on this team, and that it might not be the kind of team that needed to have a big first week of free agency.

Now, of course they need work. I'm not naive. I know they've been 8-8 each of the past two seasons. I know the offensive line is a wreck, that they have question marks at safety, and that depth is an issue in spots. I know they need to find another starting linebacker to go with Lee and Carter. And yes, of course I know about Tony Romo's reputation for playing small in big spots. All of that stuff is true. I just think it's too easy too often for Cowboys fans to get negative about the way they perceive their team, and I don't think it's all doom and gloom there in Dallas.

Each of the past two seasons, they made it to the final game with a chance to win the division. By definition, that's a contending team, and as close to being a playoff team as one can get. They must improve in spots, most notably the offensive line, or it's going to be hard to believe they can make any big leap forward. But I don't agree with the perception that they're in big trouble because they were hamstrung this week in free agency. I think there are a lot of very good players on the Cowboys' roster who, if properly supported by a good draft and some smart free-agent bargain hunting, can make this a competitive team in 2013, just as it was in 2011 and 2012.

I think that's worth keeping in mind, is all.

So if you happen to be going back through earlier posts and you stumble on this one from this morning, I'd ask that you just read the very first line and not the rest of it. Because even though it appeared to make no sense for the Dallas Cowboys to designate Anthony Spencer as their franchise player for the second year in a row, the Dallas Cowboys have decided to do just that. Spencer's agent, Jordan Woy, tweeted the news about two hours before the 4 p.m. ET franchise-tag deadline and wrote also, "We will work on a long-term deal."

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Randy Galloway and Matt Mosley discuss the Cowboys putting the franchise tag on Anthony Spencer and releasing Gerald Sensabaugh. Listen

Now, because of the franchise-tag rules in the new CBA, the Cowboys must pay Spencer at least 120 percent of his 2012 salary if he plays the 2013 as their franchise player. Since last year's tag was $8.865 million, that means Spencer's franchise tag number for this year is $10.638 million, which is a ton of money to spend on one player given the Cowboys' cap problems. (If they tagged him again next year, they'd have to pay him 144 percent of his 2013, so at least $15.319 million.) Here are some of my thoughts on this odd reversal by the Cowboys:

1. They must like their chances of getting a long-term deal done this offseason with Spencer. It had been assumed he wanted to hit the market and cash in on his career season, but the decision to franchise him indicates to me the Cowboys and Woy must have had some encouraging discussions. If they didn't think it was possible to sign Spencer long-term, the Cowboys with this move would just be putting off a problem and making it worse. And while that wouldn't necessarily be out of character for them, the cap crunch is too obvious for even the most stubborn of owner/GMs to ignore. I would not be surprised if a deal got done to reduce Spencer's cap number for 2013.

2. They must be getting close to a contract extension for quarterback Tony Romo. After all of the restructuring work they did last week to get under the cap, tagging Spencer puts the Cowboys right back at or over it again. While there's other restructuring they can do, the best way for them to get significant 2013 cap relief is still to extend Romo and reduce his 2013 cap number in the process. Since they seemed last week as though they'd decided not to franchise Spencer and then they reversed course today, I have to believe they have some sense now of what Romo's 2013 cap number is going to be. That likely means they've made progress on Romo's extension, which I believe has been a foregone conclusion for some time.

3. They're prioritizing the defensive front. Spencer will move from outside linebacker to defensive end in the Cowboys' 4-3 defensive alignment under new coordinator Monte Kiffin, rushing the passer from the opposite side of the line from DeMarcus Ware and keeping Jason Hatcher and Jay Ratliff inside as defensive tackles. That looks like a very good pass-rushing line, as long as Ware and Ratliff can hold up physically and Spencer rushes the passer the way he did in 2012. Those are big "ifs," but the Cowboys appear to have decided they'd rather go cheap on the back end than the front. Which brings us to...

4. They need to address safety. Big time. The move that immediately preceded the Spencer news was the release of safety Gerald Sensabaugh -- a move that saves $1.4 million in cap room and leaves an opening at the back of the defense. The Sensabaugh cut, to me, says that they like Barry Church as the safety who can play the single-high position when Kiffin's scheme calls for it and that they still have plans for 2012 fourth-round pick Matt Johnson. The problems there are that Church is recovering from an Achilles injury and hadn't proven himself as a starter for very long before that happened, and that Johnson was an overdraft at pick 135 last year and missed his rookie season with a hamstring injury. That sounds like two pretty big question marks to me for a defensive scheme that asks a lot of its safeties. Now, the draft is very deep at safety this year, and there are good options on the free-agent market, so it's reasonable to argue that they'll have an easier time replacing Sensabaugh than they would have had finding a 4-3 defensive end to replace Spencer. But there's little doubt now where the Cowboys' biggest defensive need lies.

All in all, I can't say I like the move. It smacks of Jerry Jones' and the Cowboys' persistent inability to let go before it's too late. I feel the same way about Jones' stubborn refusal to part ways with Ratliff, as a matter of fact. But this is all easy for me to say, since I'm not the one who'd have to put together a new defensive line if I made those moves. In the end, it appears as though the Cowboys decided they didn't want to try to do that this offseason.

IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys’ decision to cut safety Gerald Sensabaugh on Monday pushes safety to the top of the team’s offseason needs. (Click here for the story.)

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ESPN Dallas' Todd Archer joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the Cowboys cutting Gerald Sensabaugh in a salary cap move. Listen

Without Sensabaugh, the Cowboys are banking on the return of health Barry Church, who tore his Achilles in the third game of the season and ...

As the Cowboys move to the 4-3 under new defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, they don’t have a John Lynch-type that worked so well in Tampa for years. They don’t have much of anything at the spot really.

“We upgraded safety when we brought in Kiffin relative to what we’re going to need the safety to do,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said at the NFL scouting combine.

Danny McCray is a restricted free agent and showed last year he is a backup as the more he played the more he got exposed. The Cowboys like Eric Frampton, who started the final two games, is an unrestricted free agent. As is Charlie Peprah, who started one game.

Matt Johnson did not play a game as a rookie because of hamstring injuries.

As the names of free agents like Charles Woodson, Ed Reed and other veterans pop into your minds as possible signings, one of the strengths of the draft is the safety position. At the NFL scouting, Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro said he will visit with the Cowboys before the draft. Chicago general manager Phil Emery said there could be five or six starting safeties in the draft.

It’s a risky move for the Cowboys, especially with so little in reserve.

This scouting combine story from Todd Archer tells us that the Dallas Cowboys were planning a switch from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 defense even before the 2012 season ended. According to coach Jason Garrett, they believe they have the right kind of personnel to make the switch:

"You just go through all those scenarios and at the end of it we felt good about, 'Hey, we can do this and it won't take us three years to do this,'" coach Jason Garrett said. "And we certainly want to continue to add pieces to it and make that defense better, but we felt good about the flexibility and versatility of the guys we already have."

Monte Kiffin and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli agreed with Garrett's analysis after they joined the staff. They used players such as Simeon Rice, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and Brian Urlacher as frames of reference for DeMarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff, Sean Lee and Bruce Carter.

Well, yeah. I mean, if all of those guys at the end of that sentence play like all of the guys at the beginning of that sentence, then yeah, the Cowboys will really have something. But there are some "ifs," and most of them are tied to health. For instance, I think Lee can be a brilliant playmaking middle linebacker in a 4-3. But he has to stay on the field, and he's had trouble doing that. And then there's this later in the story from former Cowboys exec Jeff Ireland, comparing Ware to Cameron Wake, who moved from a 3-4 outside linebacker to a 4-3 end last year for Ireland's Dolphins:

"We felt like when Wake was in a three-point stance he probably was a better rusher than he was in a two-point stance," Ireland said. "I don't know that about DeMarcus. I'd have to study that, but I'm sure he's equally efficient in a three-point or two-point stance, so I don't think it will be that tough."

Ware is a very interesting part of all of this. Again, I don't think it's a question of his ability to perform effectively in a 4-3 but rather his ability to hold up physically while playing closer to the ball and mixing it up more directly with bigger offensive line bodies. Ware has shown some signs the past couple of years that his body could be beginning to break down, and if that is a trend and not an aberration, then a move like this isn't going to help with it.

This transition to the 4-3 is one of the very interesting stories of the Cowboys' offseason, so we'll continue to examine it as it goes along. I think they have the right kinds of players to pull it off, but a lot depends on who goes, who stays and who shows up to play it once the salary cap is straight and free agency and the draft have settled.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Dallas Cowboys were having internal discussions about a philosophical defensive change from the 3-4 scheme to the 4-3 even before last season ended.

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Herm Edwards joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the NFL combine and Cowboys' offseason. Edwards says Rod Marinelli is the key to the defense this season, not Monte Kiffin. He also talks about what it would be like to work for Jerry Jones. Listen

Not long after their season-ending loss to the Washington Redskins, the Cowboys looked at their defensive pieces to see if there was a way to make a smoother transition. And this came before Monte Kiffin was hired as defensive coordinator.

"You just go through all those scenarios and at the end of it we felt good about, 'Hey, we can do this and it won't take us three years to do this,'" coach Jason Garrett said. "And we certainly want to continue to add pieces to it and make that defense better, but we felt good about the flexibility and versatility of the guys we already have."

Kiffin and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli agreed with Garrett's analysis after they joined the staff. They used players such as Simeon Rice, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and Brian Urlacher as frames of reference for DeMarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff, Sean Lee and Bruce Carter.

But it's one thing to feel good about the pieces. It's another thing to know if the pieces will actually work.

Read more about the move to the 4-3 here.

ESPN analyst and former NFL head coach Herm Edwards, as usual, had some strong opinions about what the Dallas Cowboys should do to try and fix their problems during an appearance on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM's "Fitzsimmons and Durrett."

Here's what he had to say ...

PODCAST
Herm Edwards joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the NFL combine and Cowboys' offseason. Edwards says Rod Marinelli is the key to the defense this season, not Monte Kiffin. He also talks about what it would be like to work for Jerry Jones. Listen

On the play-calling conundrum:

“If I’m Jason Garrett, I’m calling the plays. That’s Jason Garrett’s strength. That’s what he does. That’s why he was hired, because he was a good play-caller. Let’s not lose sight of that now. By the way, he is the head coach: 'I get to call the shots.' Now what’s Jerry going to do, fire him because he wants to call the plays, ‘OK, then fire me. I’m calling the plays.’ ...

“He sits there with the whistle, with the hat. He stands out in front of the media and has to talk after the game – before Jerry gets to them. And the players know. And that’s the hard part because you don’t give the head coach a lot of authority. You’re taking his authority away.

"Coaches know. And here’s the problem: When you’re winning, it goes unseen. When you start losing, guess what? Those coaches are talking about, ‘Well, Jerry hired me. I’m Jerry’s guy.’ All that conversation gets going when you’re losing. Players start pointing fingers. That’s part of it too. We don’t see it right now because it’s the off-season. But I’ll tell you what, you get off to a slow start, and you start losing games at the end when you’re trying to make a playoff run, all that stuff will come out. I guarantee you, we’ll be talking about that.”

On the offseason changes to the coaching staff:

“Rod Marinelli is going to do a lot of the hard work. I think he’s one of the best defensive line coaches in the National Football League. That was a great hire, when he hired Rod. That was the key to me. That was the whole key for Monte (Kiffin) because Rod knows the system as well as Monte. Monte will tweak some things and do some things. But Rod Marinelli will have a big hand on this defense along with Monte.”