Anyone driving through the Metroplex in the offseason who happened to tune into Norm Hitzges, Randy Galloway, or one of the other local sports talk radio hosts couldn't avoid the hottest topic in Dallas-Fort Worth: Who was to blame for the Cowboys' disappointing inability to qualify for last season's playoffs?

There was no shortage of candidates. HC Wade Phillips, obviously, was a popular choice. So was QB Tony Romo, still without a postseason win after yet another late-season fade. Romo's flame, Jessica Simpson, was also targeted (especially if you asked the waitresses at the Arlington Waffle House, who personally vented an anti-Jessica tirade at us). Beleaguered o.c. Jason Garrett had his own critics. Terrell Owens and his annual circus was another favored suggestion, as was Adam "Pacman" Jones. Even new Dallas resident George W. Bush wasn't immune. But we think the buck stops somewhere else.

Try Jerry Jones.

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Whatever the shortcomings of the others listed above, the fact is that owner/GM Jones had laid extra trip wires throughout the organization; the mere presence of acknowledged powderkegs such as T.O. and Pacman were situations begging to boomerang. Phillips' iffy status was also never really clarified by Jones, who announced that the young Garrett was effectively his head-coach-in-waiting. That put Jones in a pickle at the end of the season, when Jerry could have easily justified canning Phillips after the season-ending 44-6 loss vs. the Eagles scuttled playoff hopes. But it was also no time to promote Garrett, who shared some blame for the collapse. So instead of looking elsewhere for a new coach, there would be no new coach at all..at least for 2009. For the time being (and maybe not much more), Phillips remains on the job.

With the potential distractions of T.O. and Pacman now eliminated after both were released, there's hope for a return to some sort of normalcy in Big D. Most of the hoopla now surrounds the opening of Jones' palatial new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, adjacent to the Rangers' ballpark. Among other highlights of the new facility is a 2100-inch, center-hung video board that is supposedly the world's biggest TV screen.

Romo's visage will undoubtedly be one of the most featured on the new board, but whether his mug induces cheers or boos remains to be seen. Phillips, Garrett, and Jones spent much of their offseason supposedly making the "O" more "Romo-friendly," but the possibility remains that it was T.O. who made Romo a Pro Bowl QB in the first place, and no comparable receiving threat remains on the roster. Jones sent three draft picks to the Lions for WR Roy Williams, but is still waiting on any return from that investment. NFC sources report that opponents began to key on o.c. Garrett's and Romo's tendencies last fall when the gameplan became too formulaic, and Williams didn't emerge as a major threat. And unless Williams delivers, the only quick-strike ability in the passing game might be raw speedburner Miles Austin, who has all of 18 career receptions. Insiders also believe Garrett might have gone away from the run too quickly at times in '08, when last year's rookies Tashard Choice & Felix Jones flashed considerable upside while complementing the productive Marion Barber. Meanwhile, upgrades for a heavy, slow, and aging OL were mostly ignored in free agency and the draft, when the Cowboys traded out of Day One completely to load up with extra picks in rounds three thru seven that might not provide much more than added depth in the fall.

Phillips, a coordinator at heart who has assumed the play-calling for his stop units as a head coach in the past (such as taking over for Charlie Waters at Denver in 1994), did the same LY when assuming the d.c. reins from Brian Stewart. Yet improvement is needed across the stop unit despite the presence of All-Pro OLB DeMarcus Ware, off perhaps his best season when recording 20 sacks. Phillips also will be seeking better coordination in the 2ndary, where he wants both safeties (Ken Hamlin & Gerald Sensabaugh) to assume more leadership. Offseason additions ready to help immediately are ex-Falcon LB Keith Brooking and ex-Charger DE Igor Olshansky. But Phillips also lost some key cogs in free agency, and with longtime stalwart LB Greg Ellis released, former top draft pick Anthony Spencer now faces a make-or-break year in Ellis' place.

Bottom line...Although some of the potential distractions (namely T.O. and Pacman) have been removed from the Cowboy equation, there remain plenty of ways for Dallas to veer off course again, namely Phillips' iffy status, and Romo's ability to not only produce sans Owens, but to finally perform in the clutch after late-season meltdowns in each of his three years as a starter. Whether Jerry Jones likes it or not, the Cowboys are no longer a chic pick to get to the Super Bowl, and they would do well to merely get back into the postseason mix.