Jerry Jones is looking for a head coach – again. This is his fourth coaching search since Jones last hoisted a Lombardi Trophy in January 1996. None of his three most recent hires was able to win him a playoff game, much less another Super Bowl.
First Jones hired a guy who knew offense (Chan Gailey). That didn't work. Then he hired a guy who knew defense (Dave Campo). That didn't work, either. Finally, Jones hired a guy who knew how to win – a head coach with almost as many Super Bowl rings as the Cowboys' owner himself.
Jones gave Bill Parcells more power than any Cowboys coach since Jimmy Johnson. He let Parcells build a roster he wanted to build and play the schemes he wanted to play.
Parcells constructed a team that leaned heavily on veteran players, much as Joe Gibbs has done at Washington in his second go-round. Gibbs won three Super Bowls in the pre-salary cap era and Parcells two. You could afford to start older players and carry veteran backups under the old system. But not under the new system.
With salary-cap limits, you must play youth. That means drafting well and playing them early on. Neither Gibbs nor Parcells grasped that. They tried to win the way they won in the 1980s – with older players.
The Indianapolis Colts entered the 2006 season with the third-youngest roster and fifth-youngest starting lineup in the NFL. Four months later, the Colts are in the Super Bowl. A head coach needs to embrace youth in today's NFL.
Parcells started 11 different players in their 30s this season. All that his club's veteran know-how got Parcells was a wild-card playoff berth and first-round elimination. Old teams tend to play their best football early in the season when the legs are fresh. The Cowboys faded badly in December.
So Jones won't be merely changing head coaches in 2007. He'll be changing philosophies.
Jones needs to find a coach willing to play young players and let them develop – as Jimmy Johnson did in the early 1990s. As Tony Dungy does every year at Indianapolis. Someone who is up to speed with how today's game is played.
Jones should start his search, in fact, on Dungy's staff.
Dungy's coaching tree is becoming a redwood. He hired Herman Edwards, Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli to his original staff at Tampa Bay in 1996. All are now head coaches in the NFL, and Smith will be coaching against Dungy in the Super Bowl.
Dungy also hired Mike Tomlin to replace Edwards when Edwards left to become head coach of the New York Jets in 2001. Tomlin was hired Monday as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The candidate on Dungy's current staff is Jim Caldwell, whom Dungy also hired at Tampa Bay in 2001. He took Caldwell with him to Indianapolis in 2002 in the dual capacity of assistant head coach-quarterback coach.
Caldwell has interviewed for head coaching vacancies at Arizona in 2007 and Buffalo in 2006. So he's legit. If in fact the Cowboys believe Tony Romo is the answer at quarterback, it's in their best interest to bring in someone who can accelerate his development.
Caldwell has spent the last five years working with the best quarterback in the NFL – Peyton Manning. So he has plenty of coaching expertise to offer a young quarterback. He also would implement the Indianapolis offense that has ranked in the top three in yards each of the last four seasons.
Norm Chow also would be a consideration. He, too, interviewed at Arizona this month. In the last three seasons, Chow coached Matt Leinart to a Heisman Trophy at Southern Cal in 2004 and Vince Young to NFL Rookie of the Year honors at Tennessee in 2006. So he has plenty to offer an emerging young quarterback, as well.
Like Caldwell, Chow appreciates the need to play and develop youngsters. Having spent 22 seasons in the college game, Chow knows how to turn over a roster every four years. He also was the offensive coordinator on the youngest team in the NFL in 2006 – a Tennessee team that finished 8-8.
Mike Martz would be the proven commodity if Jones wants to hire with his offense and quarterback in mind. Young Brian Schottenheimer (Jets) would be the unproven commodity. Also, Jones has a history with Norv Turner. Never discount history with Jones.
Even bringing Gailey back from Georgia Tech would be a thought. In hindsight, it was a mistake firing him in 1999 after back-to-back playoff appearances.
Just think offense. For Romo's sake.
E-mail rgosselin@dallasnews.com
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