Improving locker room chemistry will be the highest priority for the Dallas Cowboys this offseason and that will force serious discussions between Wade Phillips' coaching staff and owner Jerry Jones about whether to release controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens, according to team and league sources.
"I think we all know that chemistry is the problem with this team more than the schemes or anything else,'' a Cowboys source said. "Are we going to continue to allow talent to outweigh everything else in the decisions we make with players and putting the roster together? We're like the Redskins used to be when they signed every player they wanted. There's more to it than talent. It has to be more about the team.''
"The big one [Owens] didn't get discussed yet, but I'm sure it will and real hard.''
The Cowboys released twice-suspended cornerback Pacman Jones last week and Tank Johnson is expected to depart through free agency. Both decisions are at least partly related to the renewed emphasis on creating a different atmosphere in the locker room. The Cowboys began their ill-fated 2008 season with three players on the roster who had been suspended by the league or their previous teams -- Jones, Johnson and Owens.
At least two sources believe that vice president Stephen Jones will attempt to convince his father that Owens should be finished with the Cowboys. But Jerry Jones just last year invested a $12 million signing bonus in Owens, which means there would be salary-cap fallout. In fact, Jerry Jones has suggested that there might be enough damage that the team would find it difficult to sign NFL sack leader DeMarcus Ware to a new contract.
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