It's always about ME !
Sources say Cowboys' owner also met with ex-Vikings coach Green
12/28/2002
IRVING - Jerry Jones met for a second time with Bill Parcells on Friday as the two continued to hammer out parameters for a possible deal to make Parcells the sixth coach in Cowboys' history.
Two sources close to Jones and Parcells said the Cowboys owner, son Stephen Jones, Parcells and his agent, Jimmy Sexton, met for six hours at the Garden City Club on Long Island, N.Y., and tried to work out the details of the coach-general manager relationship that would be employed if Parcells was brought to Dallas.
Friday marked the second meeting between Jones and Parcells in 10 days. The sources said they agreed to meet again after the season, probably early next week.
Cowboys coach Dave Campo has been told of his impending dismissal, which will be announced Monday or Tuesday, according to one source. That source said Jones told Campo he was going to meet with Parcells on Friday.
Two other sources said that Jones has met with former Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green about possibly becoming the Cowboys coach.
The Parcells sources said financial compensation continues to be a non-issue and that Parcells would be willing to work for a salary in the $3-4 million range per season.
"We talked for a few hours, and we're ahead of where we were," Parcells told The Record of Bergen County, N.J. "But it's still premature to say he will offer me the job. I think he has interview other people."
Sources close to Jones and Parcells said the two are focused on trying to get a deal done and that areas of control are starting to be defined. According to those sources, Jones is willing to give Parcells control over the hiring and firing of assistant coaches, which would be a first for Jones since Jimmy Johnson was coach from 1989-93.
One source said control of the scouting department is not an issue with Parcells as long as he has a strong say in draft decisions. Jones just gave longtime Cowboys scouting director Larry Lacewell a three-year contract extension.
Sources said Jones and Green had serious discussions and Green could become a candidate if a deal with Parcells falls through. Green, who runs the West Coast offense and beat the Cowboys by an average of 10 points the last three times he coached against them, is an analyst with ESPN.
"The job's not open, but if it was, I'd be interested," Green told ESPN.
Under a new rule approved by NFL owners, teams have agreed to interview at least one minority candidate when making a coaching hire. With Jones having satisfied that requirement by talking to Green, who is black, there is nothing standing in the way of hiring Parcells if the two can come to an agreement on how the team would operate with Parcells as coach.
After announcing the firing of Campo, Jones is being advised to make an offer to Parcells and secure a response immediately to avoid Parcells getting swept up in speculation about other possible job openings in the NFL, according to two sources.
Those openings could include Jacksonville, which has had three straight losing seasons under Tom Coughlin, a close friend of Parcells, and Detroit, which has five wins (two against Dallas) in two seasons under coach Marty Mornhinweg.
If Jacksonville and Detroit find themselves looking for new coaches, Jones could find himself in a bidding war for Parcells, which would be foreign territory for Jones. The highest salary Jones has paid to a coach is $1 million per season to Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Campo earns less than $1 million.
With Steve Spurrier getting $5 million per season as the first-year coach in Washington Sexton, could command upward of $5 million for Parcells, a coach who has won two Super Bowls.
Parcells has no interest in trying to be the highest-paid coach in the NFL, one source said. A source said Jones has no interest in a protracted courtship with Parcells in which other teams are vying for Parcells' interest.
If Parcells doesn't end up as Jones' man, speculation would undoubtedly turn to Green or to Seattle, where Mike Holmgren appears to be working his final days as general manager and coach of the Seahawks, despite a late-season surge that included back-to-back wins over Atlanta and St. Louis.
The fallback candidate for Jones appears to be Miami offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who served as Cowboys offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 1991-93. Jones has learned through a third-party that Turner would take the Cowboys coaching job if offered.
In Turner, Jones would be heading back to the timing-based passing attack that he has twice abandoned as owner/general manager of the Cowboys. Jones got rid of that offense when he hired Chan Gailey in 1998. He returned to it in 2000 under Jack Reilly and then dumped it after last season for the West Coast offense.
