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Evidence shows Switzer won't coach another year

By Jim Reeves / Knight-Ridder Newspapers

"It's amazing how things work out if you wait long enough. Barry Switzer starts his first year as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in Pittsburgh. Now he starts his last year as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in Pittsburgh."-- WFAA/Channel 8 sports anchor Dale Hansenon the eve of the Cowboys' 1997 season opener

Five games into the 1997 season, the fate of Cowboys coach Barry Switzer beyond this year remains a question that hangs over the team like an unsolved mystery.

Or a half-completed jigsaw puzzle.

The pieces are scattered over the table, awaiting the clever sleuth who can fit them together to form a complete and accurate picture of the future.

But what will it show? And are all the pieces on the table?

Any experienced jigsaw puzzle fan understands how important, missing pieces always seem to disappear -- or show up -- at the last minute, knocked under the couch by the cat or found tucked in a pants cuff.

With a careful study of the evidence, an ear to the grapevine and a wary appreciation of the rumor mill, I am convinced, like Hansen, that Switzer is in his final year as the Cowboys' coach, no matter how the team finishes.

Hansen began his "Sunday Night Sports Special" on the eve of the Cowboys' opener with the quote above. He said it only about half-seriously and with the usual twinkle in his eye, but it set off a maelstrom that has barely cooled since.

"It was a joke, but it was a joke based on logic," Hansen said. "The phones went nuts. People called the station demanding my head on a plate. I was out on vacation the rest of that week and people thought I'd been fired."

There have been numerous changes in philosophy by owner Jerry Jones that support the idea that Switzer is gone after this season. Jones, though, steadfastly denies that he has made that decision.

"I've made up my mind not to address him not being back," Jones said. "My thoughts are for him to be back. But I refuse to look beyond this season and our goal of winning a Super Bowl this year."

That in itself is a change for Jones. This is the man who once gave Jimmy Johnson a 10-year contract before he'd ever coached a day in the pros. Jones seldom shies away from long-term commitments.

Until now.

But let's not jump ahead of ourselves.

Here, in chronological order, are key points of evidence indicating why Switzer is riding in his last roundup: The Aikman Turnaround

The Case: As much as anything, this is what convinces many of us would-be media detectives that Switzer's days are numbered. Troy Aikman spent many a long winter's day contemplating his future. He seriously considered retirement before deciding he would quarterback the Cowboys in 1997 and beyond.

"I can't believe that there is anything that could have happened between February and July that would have made him change his mind," said Hansen, who knows the Cowboys' quarterback well, "unless he was convinced that Switzer was on his way out."

Would Aikman have returned if he'd simply been told by Jones that Switzer would change, become more of a disciplinarian? Not likely. We've heard that story before, and Aikman alluded to a "lack of focus and detail" in practice sessions after the Cowboys' sloppy victory over Chicago two weeks ago.

Plus, rumors abound that Aikman has let it be known to close friends that the only reason he returned was because he was assured that Switzer would only be around for one more season.

The Rebuttal: Aikman denies that he has ever asked Jones to make a coaching change or that he was told by the owner that Switzer would be gone after this season.

"I would never get involved in the hiring or firing of any coach," Aikman said, as he has in the past, when asked about the rumors.

Did Jones tell Aikman, when they met during the off-season, that Switzer would not return in 1998?

"No, I did not," Jones said. "No, I did not. By the way, we had more than one meeting."Jones' Philosophical Changes

The Case: For the first time, Jones has declined to exercise the roll-over contracts for Switzer and most of his assistants, leaving the impression that he's ready to make a change after the season.

The Rebuttal: The owner, who attends coaches' meetings regularly, has stressed more than ever that the Cowboys have a rapidly closing window of opportunity to win another Super Bowl with the current core of players -- Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin -- and that his full attention is on 1997.

"If I thought it would help us win a Super Bowl," Jones said when asked if he plans to change coaches in 1998, "I would."

Yet, Jones continually has denied making any decisions regarding Switzer's status beyond this season.

"I really shouldn't be looking in any way at '98, '99 or 2000," Jones said.The Gun Incident

The Case: It may not be smoking, but this is the gun that may eventually be pointed to as the one that ultimately shot down Switzer.

Jones was outraged when his coach was nabbed at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport with a .38-caliber pistol in his bag like any common, arrogant, thoughtless player.

Those close to him say Jones, who had spent more than $1 million and most of the off-season trying to clean up his team's image, nearly fired Switzer over the stupid, if innocent, mistake.

After letting his coach twist in the wind for several days, Jones eventually announced a whopping $75,000 fine.

The Rebuttal: "Bad timing," Jones said of Switzer's mistake. "It was an unfortunate incident that couldn't be overlooked. His position as head coach made that a kick in the pants to the Cowboys' organization at that particular juncture.

"The $75,000 fine was a big number to him. That was everything I needed, everything I felt our players and our fans needed, to say, ÔOK, let's be men. You've paid your price, now let's go on.' It needed to be that to wipe the slate clean. When I look at Barry Switzer, now or in the future, I don't see that. He paid his pound of flesh."Coach Jerry

The Case: Speaking to a "New York Times" reporter, Jones flirted with the idea of someday choosing himself to replace Switzer, then allowed the media to kick the ludicrous idea around before laughingly saying it would never happen.

Ludicrous? Never?

Don't be too sure.

We've all seen what Switzer does during games. And we've seen Jerry on the sideline during many a second half. The only difference appears to be the headset.

Besides, Jones has privately worried about how he'll ever find another coach he can get along with as well as he does Switzer. Unlike Jimmy Johnson's, Barry's ego never gets in Jerry's way.

The Rebuttal: "In terms of a personal relationship, he's as easy to work with as anybody I've ever been around," Jones said. "What I couldn't do as well as Barry Switzer is this: Barry is unique in his ability to judge talent. People who are close to him, who know football, give him an A-plus in that area. ... It'll always be in our best interests to have a coach who can concentrate solely on what we do on the field."

Meanwhile, a source close to the team says members of the Cowboys' staff have been asking players about potential head coaches.

Hmmmm.

The pieces are on the table. The picture that I see forming -- about half based on the evidence listed and the other half on sheer feel -- is absent a certain Boomering visage.

Jones' denials that we sleuths are on the right track don't faze us. After all, Jerry once told us that he didn't know anything about an upcoming drug suspension for Leon Lett.

Anybody seen the Big Cat lately?

Maybe he's a jigsaw puzzle fan, too.

(Jim Reeves is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

(c) 1997, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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