I believe that there is a chance that Bill Parcells will return as coach of the Dallas Cowboys next season regardless of Terrell Owens’ employment status with owner Jerry Jones.

T.O. coming back to Big D may not drive Parcells to retirement in Saratoga, N.Y., but a team that can’t win the big game just might. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Dallas playoff-bound team be embarrassed in consecutive home games by the likes of Drew Brees and Jeff Garcia. The score count in those two losses: 65-24.

The New Orleans Saints, once the laughingstock of the NFL for their general incompetence, humiliated the Cowboys in Texas Stadium. Now, the “no-shot Eagles,” like Jimmy Johnson likes to say, were beaten by a quarterback Owens once outted as an unmanly man.

Several things doomed the Cowboys from having a merry Christmas:

One, Marion Barber finished with negative yards in three goal-line carries late in the first quarter. Hey, Parcells loves going for it on fourth down and Barber is one determined running back. But when the kid can’t gain a foot in two attempts against a supposedly porous Philadelphia run defense maybe a light should go on and say, ‘Hey, these Eagles may know our run calls better than we’re blocking right now.’ If Dallas kicks the field goal, the Eagles don’t gain street cred for being Christmas bullies.

Two, Tony Romo didn’t look like a Pro Bowl quarterback. Granted, the NFC doesn’t have many good quarterbacks this season, but Romo struggled with Philadelphia’s blitz pressure and misfired, completing less than 50 percent of his attempts for 142 yards and had two interceptions against a rejuvenated Eagles’ secondary.

Three, Owens dropped another huge third-down ball down the left sidelines, with the score 16-7 and the Cowboys in desperate need of a big play. Owens said the defender interfered with him and then complained about not seeing enough passes his way early in the game. The thing about Dallas is that Romo is going to the open man and not every Dallas play, based on his 16 dropped passes this season, can be earmarked for Owens.

Packers need computer error

Supposedly, the Packers have a chance at the final NFC wild-card berth even if the New York Giants beat Washington this Saturday and the Packers upset division rival Chicago. I don’t see how. I mean, there would have to be a computer glitch or something.

Right now, the Giants have beaten seven teams who have won 46 games. The Packers have beaten six teams (Minnesota twice) who have won 33 games. And this is when the so-called strength of victory category that will come into play. Even by collecting 13 wins by beating the Bears, the Giants will collect 5 more wins by beating the Redskins. They’ll collect another win when Philadelphia and Atlanta play (they’ve beaten both of those teams) and there’s no way that Dallas will lose to Detroit. The Eagles swept the Cowboys.

To me, the Giants are in — even though I'm not sure they deserve to be going anywhere but home at the end of the season — by simply beating the Redskins.

One more year

It is looking more and more like Lions GM Matt Millen will return for one final season. Owner William Clay Ford hasn’t tipped his hand or said anything publicly on the subject, but Millen’s fate is probably hinged to head coach Rod Marinelli. Ford likes Marinelli and his no-nonsense approach to the players. Millen hired Marinelli and Ford probably thinks that it’s too early to dump Marinelli, who does have confidence in Millen.

One more year for Millen may make the rest of the NFL jealous of his status and salary, but that’s the way it goes in Motown.

Christmas Day afterthoughts

Please give safety Brian Dawkins as much credit as Jeff Garcia for this Philadelphia surge down the stretch.

Eric Mangini, the shocking hire of the season, proved not to be a youthful experiment by the Jets and transformed a winless road team into a 6-2 team this season. Simply amazing. Mangini should be the No. 1 challenge to Sean Payton for Coach of the Year.

No wonder Bill Parcells didn’t totally endorse Tony Romo’s Pro Bowl selection. The first-year starter is suddenly looking like an undrafted quarterback from Eastern Illinois.

Terrell Owens is a lot of things, but one of his best traits can be his matter-of-fact honesty. Like at the end of Friday afternoon’s Cowboys practice, a radio reporter asked him if he was a better athlete than Jerry.

Owens paused for a couple seconds, thinking the guy was asking about Jerry Rice. But, no, the man was asking about Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboys.

He grinned. “I don’t think Jerry would mind if I said I was a better athlete than he is,” Owens said. Everyone in the media huddle laughed.

T.O. was the only Cowboys’ player wearing a white helmet with the old Dallas star on his helmet. He stood out until the Cowboys’ Rich Dalrymple told me that

Owens missed the practices when his teammates were trying on the throwback helmets that will be used in a couple games this season. “You could see that the chin strap was a little too snug on me,” Owens said.

 

Basically, Owens is in catch-up mode these days after missing almost two weeks of practice. He has been on the field, though, for three consecutive days now. He was also the only player on the field in black tights.

Owens, who stayed after practice to take some extra throws from Drew Bledsoe, said he still wasn’t sure if he would be playing on Monday against the New Orleans Saints in Shreveport, La.

“I’m still day-to-day,” he said. “The hamstring is OK, but I’m still a little sore. My legs still need to get a little stronger. I’m still not in football shape.”

There is no reason to rush Owens into the preseason lineup because the Cowboys have a long season ahead and they really need him when the real games begin. He said that he and Bledsoe are getting a little more comfortable with each other, but they still aren’t in total sync yet.

“Hey, he’s used to throwing to Key (Keyshawn Johnson),” Owens said, “and I’m a little more explosive in and out of my breaks than he is. (Bledsoe) still has to get used to that, what I can do.”

is no doubt that some veterans were wondering earlier in the week when Owens was going to join them in practices, especially after he was seen running very hard on Monday and Tuesday.

 

However, I don’t believe that Cowboys coach Bill Parcells told team trainer Jim Maurer to tell Owens he better return to practice or else. I do believe that if Parcells wanted Owens back on the practice field he would simply tell him himself. Parcells is no shrinking violet.

 

Based on one practice, Parcells and Owens seem to be getting along. Parcells could be heard offering advice to Owens on how not to turn his shoulders on a specific fade route and the player seemed to acknowledge the advice. 

The No Fun League reared its unfortunate head at these meetings with the expected passage of a rule outlawing celebrations like Carolina receiver Steve Smith falling in the end zone and doing a snow angel to please one of his daughters. No more sliding down the goal post, either, like a firemen.

No more putt-putt golf for Chad Johnson.

 Fans in Cincinnati can forget looking forward to what clever celebration routine receiver Chad Johnson plans for that weekend's touchdown dance, even though Johnson's "Riverdance" high-stepping Irish #### was a season highlight.

Now, the Lambeau Leap is still allowed, a celebration that could actually lead to an injury if done incorrectly or if the front-row fans don't grab the player securely before he falls backwards.

But Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher, co-chairman of the Competition Committee, says that the NFL Players Association wants these celebrations barred and the league is in favor, believing some celebrations are a form of taunting.

Then, again, if defensive backs were so upset with Smith and Johnson's touchdown celebrations maybe they should simply do a better job of playing defense.

No love for Lovie 

The Bears have decided not to reward Coach of the Year Lovie Smith with a new contract because he has two years remaining on his original deal. It means that Smith, now that Jacksonville has reworked Jack Del Rio's contract, is the lowest paid head coach in the NFL at $1.3 million this season.

To show how out-of-whack the Bears are on this, all of the first-year head coaches hired for this season are earning more than Smith. Also, three assistant coaches, from Monte Kiffin in Tampa Bay to Greg Williams in Washington, will be paid more this season than Smith. Williams actually earns $2.66 million.

Culpepper doing well . . . but not that well

Miami coach Nick Saban never said that new quarterback Daunte Culpepper will be ready for the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he hinted that the former Minnesota quarterback is doing well in his rehab from three torn knee ligaments. Saban said Tuesday that Culpepper is now running in a straight line and that he has full range of motion, plus simulated a drop-back routine recently. Saban also said that Culpepper probably won't need as many training-camp repetitions in the Miami offense because much of what the Dolphins do is similar to what Culpepper ran in Minnesota.

Missing the Bills

Cowboys coach Bill Parcells never showed for these meetings and then New England coach Bill Belichick left early, thus missing Tuesday morning's breakfast with television and newspaper reporters.

ORLANDO -- Granted, spending a few days at a beautiful resort like the Grand Cypress Hyatt Regency is not a bad job for any sportswriter from Green Bay or Minnesota at this time of the year. But what the job demands is standing around a hotel lobby, waiting for meetings to break in order to pounce on an NFL owner or coach or executive for a few comments. The bad news, though, is that there rarely is any significant breaking news at your typical annual March owners' meetings and this one figures to be no exception.

This is stunning news, considering the 32 owners must find a replacement for NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. But there remains residual bickering from the recent collective bargaining talks, which ultimately led to continued labor peace, and it sounds like it may be impossible for Tagliabue to even select a search committee among the 32 teams this week. I mean, everyone figured it would be easy for Tags to name Dan Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers as the chairman and pick five or six others and start the process.

The trouble is, one insider told me, is that virtually every team wants a voice on the replacement search, which is an impossibility.

"Owners want to make sure that their specific interests are taken care of," the executive said. "It's going to be hard to pick a consensus group."

Many believed a committee would be named today and that definitely isn't going to happen. There's a solid chance that these meetings could end on Wednesday without a committee in place.

 

Where's Bill?

It looks like Dallas coach Bill Parcells will remain in south Florida, watching exhibition baseball games rather than spending a day or two at these meetings.

The Cowboys will open the season at Jacksonville in the FOX national game on opening weekend. NBC's first Sunday night game will feature the Manning Brothers, as older brother Peyton visits the Meadowlands with the Indianapolis Colts against Eli and the Giants.

 

Commissioner Dungy?

Speaking of the Colts, one interesting name floating around the hotel lobby to replace Tagliabue is Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy, one of the best men in the league. Dungy is a consensus builder, besides being a former player. As long as all the attorneys, like Jeff Pash and Eric Grubman, remain in the NFL front office, why does the commissioner have to be an attorney, too?

 

Harrington to 'Hawks?

Detroit's ex-quarterback Joey Harrington could be a possibility in Seattle. Harrington, who starred at Oregon, would like to play there and he may be receptive to a minimum-salary contract. Harrington, no matter where he ends up, won't be a threat to any teams' starting quarterback.