JAN. 22: Bill Parcells tenders his resignation as head coach in a brief meeting with owner and general manager Jerry Jones, ending his four-year run. Parcells finished with a 34-30 regular-season record. He was 0-2 in the playoffs.
JAN. 23: Jerry and Stephen Jones, the team's executive vice president, interview three in-house candidates. They meet with running game coordinator Tony Sparano, passing game coordinator Todd Haley and secondary coach Todd Bowles . Later that night, the Cowboys receive permission from the Miami Dolphins to interview quarterbacks coach Jason Garrett.
JAN. 24: Garrett impresses the Joneses, so the team announces that Garrett is a candidate for the head coaching vacancy as well as offensive coordinator. The Cowboys receive permission from the San Diego Chargers to interview defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
JAN. 25: After a 1 p.m. deadline expires with Garrett still at Valley Ranch, the Cowboys announce that he has been hired to an unspecified offensive position and will continue to be a candidate for head coach. The Cowboys receive permission to speak with New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs, a former Cowboys linebackers coach.
JAN. 26: Phillips is the first outsider to interview for the position. Phillips has a 48-39 record as a head coach and uses the same 3-4 scheme the Cowboys have used the last two seasons. The Cowboys also receive permission from the San Francisco 49ers to interview offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who helped groom Troy Aikman in the early 1990s.
JAN. 27: Gibbs interviews with the Cowboys. He has been an NFL assistant since 2002 and served as the Saints defensive coordinator in 2006. In six seasons at Oklahoma, he posted a 44-23-2 record.
JAN. 28: Turner interviews with the Cowboys after arriving from Mobile, Ala., where he coached in the Senior Bowl. Turner returns to San Francisco after the interview without a job offer.
JAN. 30: Mike Singletary, the San Francisco 49ers' assistant head coach, interviews.
JAN. 31: Jones says he is putting the coaching search on hold through Super Bowl XLI.
FEB. 3: Michael Irvin is selected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sitting with Jones are head coaching candidates Turner and Garrett. Jones says he wants to interview two more candidates after the Super Bowl.
FEB. 5: The Cowboys receive permission to talk with Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera.
FEB. 6: Rivera interviews for the head coaching position, but his arrival is delayed because of a snowstorm. Rivera meets with the Cowboys for up to five hours before returning to Chicago. The Cowboys also receive permission to speak with Indianapolis Colts assistant head coach Jim Caldwell.
FEB. 7: Caldwell becomes the 10th candidate to interview for the position, spending six hours at Valley Ranch.
FEB. 8: The Cowboys name Phillips the seventh coach in franchise history.
