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Monday, December 22, 1997

Next up for Cowboys: Addressing turnaround

By JOSIE KARP

Knight-Ridder Newspapers

IRVING - With Sunday's 20-7 loss to the New York Giants at Texas Stadium, the Cowboys have to hope they hit rock bottom. If not, it means things could get worse, and that is difficult to fathom.

A Cowboys team that won the Super Bowl two seasons ago finished the 1997 season at 6-10, the team's worst record of the 1990s.

The dramatic turnaround signals change, team owner Jerry Jones said.

"I'm not looking through any rose-colored glasses. There's a lot of work to be done," Jones said. "We've got to refit and rework in a lot of areas. We've got to look at areas of toughness, we've got to look at areas of commitment. ... We must, either with the same people or different people, make some changes."

The change most widely anticipated is at head coach. Jones continued to refuse to say whether he will keep or oust Barry Switzer. Jones said he is evaluating all potential changes, and that he has not contacted any potential replacements for Switzer.

The owner could not resist, however, asserting it would not be difficult to find interested candidates.

"I'd be surprised if I talked to anybody and they weren't interested," Jones said.

It was only one surprising remark made or action taken on Sunday, in the aftermath of the failures of a team that entered the season hoping to compete for the Super Bowl and finished out of the playoffs after five consecutive losses.

Signs of turmoil abounded.

An example of that was evident in the second quarter on Sunday, when Jones made a visit to the Cowboys' coaches booth. The owner is a frequent sideline stalker, but his appearance in the booth during the Cowboys' first-half shutout was unprecedented.

Jones tried to pass it off as nothing more than observation.

"I was there, but I was not irate and not overly critical. Just being an observer," Jones said.

Then there were the postgame remarks of the embattled Switzer, who said for the first time he has discussed with Jones roles he could maintain within the Cowboys' organization other than head coach.

"Jerry and I have had those type of discussions," Switzer said. "If he wants them to be known, we'll let you know in the future."

Jones at first said he could not recall such a conversation, then denied any had taken place.

"I have never spoken with him about anything other than him coaching the Cowboys. Ever," Jones said.

Finally, there was the locker-room meeting Switzer held with quarterback Troy Aikman after the game. Details of the conversation between the coach and the player, with whom he maintains a chilly relationship, were unavailable.

"We needed to talk about some personal things that couldn't wait until after Christmas," Switzer said.

All three scenes point to the same issue: confusion.

Jones could make no assurances about when the uncertainty would start to dissipate and decisions would be made.

"I'll make them at a time when our team gains from them. When I can see a chance to benefit us, I don't care when it is, I'll make those decisions," Jones said. "... You shouldn't assume in any way that there are going to be specific people changed out here. I haven't crossed that bridge."

Several current Cowboys players might not be back next season, including veteran defensive back Bill Bates, safety Brock Marion, fullback Daryl Johnston and two of the players who were once a part of the most dominating offensive line in recent NFL history - guard Nate Newton and tackle Mark Tuinei.

Still, it is Switzer's future that is most pressing. The coach said he would likely speak to Jones about his job at a later date, but also intimated he might have already made up his mind about what he wants to do.

"I don't know whether I want to be (back next year as coach). I really don't," Switzer said. "You don't ever want to make emotional decisions. You want to take time and reflect and evaluate things. I'll do that."

In the first two seasons under Switzer, the Cowboys won a Super Bowl and lost in the NFC championship game.

In the past two years, however, they completed a dubious turnabout - to postseason watchers, not players.

"We've been declining over a number of years, and it all caught up with us," Aikman said.

Especially this season, the Cowboys were typified by penalties, mistakes and a woeful offense. Not since 1989, when they finished with only one victory, have the Cowboys had so few victories in a season.

That year was the first in the rebuilding program installed by Jones and coach Jimmy Johnson. Similar renovations will likely take place this off-season, as Jones tries to avert descending closer to that dismal level.

Areas of on-field personnel concerns include the offensive and defensive lines. The Cowboys must replenish an offensive line depleted by age. The defensive line now boasts just one player - defensive tackle Leon Lett - any other team in the league would covet.

"We've got to look at the whole team," Jones said. "This was a total team effort."