How I see it

If I ran the world, this is what would happen over the coming months:

Dallas loses out (or come close) and misses the playoffs (let's just assume they play their final three games just like they've played their last two). The next day Jerry Jones calls me up and asks me to be his top football consultant.

I'd start by saying, "Jerry, I know you own 80% of the oil on the planet, along with the most valuable sports franchise in the history of mankind... but you need to understand that you're part of the problem here. Keep your meddling little hands to yourself for two seasons and see what happens."

Then I'd advise him to...

1. Fire Wade Phillips as quickly as humanly possible. The guy has demonstrated for three seasons now that he doesn't have the backbone to lead America's Team to a successful postseason, even with tremendous talent on the field.

2. Fire Jason Garrett. He was a god in 2007 when Dallas went 13-3. Since then he's frankly been mediocre at best. At the beginning of today's game they mentioned that Dallas was (I think) 3rd in the league in total offense (by yardage). Kudos to Garrett. But they have not scored a touchdown on a game's opening possession yet this season. In fact, they currently have the longest active streak in that category (I'm pretty sure today made it 17 games). They failed to score a touchdown in the first half of the game for the third time in the last five games. They failed to score on a 1st and goal from the Chargers 3 yard line in the first half. An offensive coordinator who can ONLY seem to score on big huge long passes to Miles Austin, and big huge long runs by Felix Jones just isn't good enough. You have to score when it counts too. And on another note, he tends to freak out if the running backs don't average 12 yards per carry the first three or four times they rush, and then he passes the ball the rest of the game -- a completely silly philosophy when you actually watch what Jones, Marion Barber, and Tashard Choice can do in a game when given the chance.

3. Fire Nick Folk. In fact, if Jones had given me this coordinating position at halftime of today's game, I might have had him fire Folk right then and there. I'm sure Jon Kitna can miss just as many fieldgoals as Folk can.

4. Hire a new head coach. Shanahan, Cowher, Holmgren. Heck, offer John Gruden $100 million to reconsider his ESPN job (it's not like you can't spare the change). Or Tony Dungy. Someone with Super Bowl experience. Someone who can get his team to win those really important games at the end of the year and in the postseason. Let him bring in his own staff if he wants.

5. Keep most of the player personnel. I think the Cowboys put a pretty talented team on the field every week. It's leadership and coaching that they lack. And mental toughness (which also has to do with coaching). Probably most important to the team would be these guys: Keith Brooking (provides the most emotion and leadership on the defense... and is also quite good physically), DeMarcus Ware, Mike Jenkins (he's emerged as a really great corner), Anthony Spencer, Tony Romo, Miles Austin, Jason Witten, and all three runningbacks.

There you have it. Those are my initial steps to making this team a Super Bowl contender again. I remember when it was one. But that was an awfully long time ago.

This thought just hit me: Since the Cowboys last won a playoff game, the Minnesota Vikings (not the most storied franchise in the league, even if I do root for them against everyone but Dallas) have gone through an entire cycle of being really good (1998 - remember that team? Cris Carter and Randy Moss were unstoppable), to being really average and not scaring anyone, to being really good again (2009 - remember that team? Brett Favre, Percy Harvin, and Adrian Peterson seem to be virtually unstoppable).