If you have an employee who's not performing, it's your job to remedy that situation, one way or the other. That's why Mike Shanahan's in DC now: He wanted and got total control, then proceeded to field an awful D for 2-3 years. First year it was the GMs fault (even though he pretty much hired the coordinators Shanny wanted) so they fired the GM along with the defensive coordinator and Shanny became GM. Second year it was the defensive coordinators fault, so they fired him. Next year it was ANOTHER defensive coordinators fault, and then the question became "who keeps hiring all these sucky coaches...?" I love the man, but he is to offense what Dungy is to defense: Master of his chosen specialty, but only knowledgeable enough about its antithesis to exploit weaknesses. And let's face it, when you spend decades studying offense (or defense) looking only for FLAWS, you're probably not the best person to design a good one, because knowing what to do and knowing what not to do aren't the same. I know offense, but just because I like to go deep on 2nd and short or call screens against blitzes doesn't mean I know how to shut down Peyton Manning (who, btw, has made a career of proving something I believe strongly about D: Blitzing 8 guys when you KNOW they're passing only works against mediocre QBs; the great ones will find one of the guys you're not covering. ) But if you're gonna be a control freak you have to accept that all failings will be laid at your feet.

FWIW, just after I'd abandoned all hope of Romo becoming a serious and capable pro QB, he seems to have finally done it (I still think Colombo and Adams are loafers Shanahan would've fired the day he took over though, and this game supports that. ) It shouldn't have taken this long, but I'm not sure how much of that is on him; it may be a credit to him that he got there at all given how much of it he had to do for himself.

I will note in passing that even if someone CAN deserve to be called a moron (which I'm not willing to grant) doing so doesn't bolster anyones arguments. I agree the head coach cuddles the name players, and that's one of my biggest issues with Jerry Jones: IMHO, every Cowboys head coach since Jimmy Johnson left has done so, with the exception of Parcells (and how long was he in town...? ) I think talent and discipline are inversely proportional with most of the current roster, and I think the reason is that instead of replacing coaches who don't provide discipline with coaches who will, the owner does the opposite, to the detriment of the team. The frequency with which Dallas promotes coaches from within (especially right after Switzer) has, IMHO, less to do with loyalty than with people doing as their told. Jerry Jones is a wealthy and powerful man with an ego to match: He doesn't do dialogue, it seems to me, and that's fine as long as he's never wrong. When he is they start Quincy Carter (who was better than most people think, but I felt the same way about him as I did about Romo: He'll be a great backup to whatever starting QB they eventually find. ) On the other hand, at least Wade Phillips doesn't publicly trash his players until they get fed up and walk, all in the name of "disciplining" the team and making it "his. "

The bottom line is that criticism should be constructive (that's what's so frustrating to me with Jerry: Until he decides to do things differently no one can make him. ) When you see me carrying out my family, running over to shout, "You're house is on fire!" is just a distraction; shut up and grab a bucket. With Dallas it's a challenge for me though, because I believe the only solution is for Jerry to sell the team or get out of his echo chamber, but for precisely that reason I know that even if he read every word I wrote it wouldn't change anything.