Team owner Jerry Jones has made some attempts this offseason to rectify the mess that his team has become. He tried to bring in Dan Reeves to the front office, but something as feeble as keeping a ‘punch card’-type of accountability for hours worked kept it from happening.

The next big decision is Terrell Owens. Although the wide receiver finished with 10 touchdowns and more than 1,000 yards receiving, he causes as much of a distraction as he does good. Although quarterback Tony Romo has publicly stated that “everybody on the team wants everybody back,” he didn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement of the mercurial wideout, further stating that “there’s always change on the football team.”

Addition by subtraction may be the perfect description of the 2009 Cowboys, who need to bounce back after missing the playoffs in a season where many had predicted them as being a Super Bowl contender.

His conservative approach, especially on offense, led to his demise in New York and now Kansas City. Once Pioli replaced Carl Peterson, the handwriting was on the wall and Herm’s days were numbered.

In a statement released by the Chiefs, Pioli said, “Since my arrival last week, Herm and I have had several conversations and part of my overall evaluation of the football operation. After careful consideration, Clark (team owner Hunt) and I felt that it was best to make a change.”

Edwards had more success with the Jets and finished a five-year run, finishing with a 39-41 mark and 2-3 I the postseason. When he was fired, many complaints were heard about him not opening up the playbook more.

In his first season in Kansas City in 2006, Edwards led the Chiefs to a 9-7 record and a wild card playoff berth.

One name that has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Edwards is Mike Shanahan, who was fired by the Denver Broncos at the end of the regular season.

Once the Jets finished their offseason shopping spree by bringing in Brett Favre, team owner Woody Johnson my have had visions of grandeur and foolishly thought that he was getting the quarterback of old, not just an old quarterback.

Even when the Jets were 8-3, they were winning in spite of Favre, not because of him. Their five-game winning streak was the one part of the season where Favre was not forcing the long throw and was having success underneath. Why they went away from that and started having the 39-year-old put the game on his shoulders is also a question that needs to be answered.

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Not even waiting 24 hours to digest what happened, Johnson canned Mangini the morning after the 24-17 loss to Miami that completed the Jets’ December collapse. “I appreciate everything Eric Mangini has done for this organization over the past three seasons,” Johnson said in a statement the team released on Monday. “He is a bright, young football mind and I wish him success in the future.

“In our judgement, we made the decision we believe is in the best interest of the organization. We will begin the search for the next head coach of the Jets immediately.”

And that man will no doubt definitely NOT be Bill Cowher or Mike Holmgren. Neither will be on any sideline next fall, especially not one as shaky as the Jets’.

This is an organization that is in a transition period, one that may go smooth or take a long time to fix. The quarterback position is one that holds the most questions. Both Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum stated that they would like Favre to return. A man turning 40 who led the league in interceptions (22) with possible shoulder issues is not a formula for winning. That was proven in the past five weeks, when the Jets were lucky to win even one of those games.

The remaining QBs on the roster are either unproven youngsters (Brett Ratliff, Erik AInge) or one that has proven himself unworthy of starting (Kellen Clemens).

Whatever direction the Jets go, the quick hook given to Mangini shows that Johnson expected big things out of this team, especially because of Favre’s presence. Unfortunately, the Jets were about five years too late.

Not to kick someone when they’re down, but Donovan McNabb did himself no favors by playing as bad as you could on the heels of outing yourself as arguably the most unintelligent quarterback in the professional ranks. His putrid number not withstanding (8 for 18, 59 yards, 2 interceptions), Mr. Chunky (Dumb as) Soup found himself on the bench at the start of the second half, a move that Andy Reid – who will find himself on the unemployment line before Dick Clark struggles to ring in the New Year – covered his wide ass by stating afterwards that he had pondered pulling his starting quarterback BEFORE the game, as if he though McNabb would somehow salvage both of their jobs in one half.

Second-year player Kevin Kolb came in and did his best McNabb impersonation (10 for 23, 73 yards, 2 interceptions) in a 36-7 romp at the hands of the medicore Baltimore Ravens and their rookie signal-caller, Joe Flacco. One of Kolb’s picks included a 108-yard return for a touchdown. Ouch!

With the loss, you can now count out the 5-5-1 Eagles from any shot at making the postseason, in case you were wondering. Not that it really matters, but Reid stated in his post game press conference that he was not sure who his starting quarterback will be for the remainder of the miserable campaign.

The Eagles have a team option on McNabb that will cost them in excess of $10 million towards their salary cap for 2009, so unless team owner Jeffrey Lurie is as stupid as his quarterback, expect both McNabb and Reid to find themselves badmouthing Philadelphia on their way out of town. Both will land on their feet, as previous success in the NFL does carry over for a little while (see Rich Kotitie), but one has to figure that they have seen their best days and are headed for a deep slide.

Wherever McNabb ends up, figure on some flash cards and a book report as part of his criteria to ‘make the grade.’ Just kidding, of course, but if you were contemplating signing a guy like that, it would be your duty to call him on the carpet and throw a few ‘quiz’ questions to him, sort of like when a general manager interview a potential head coach and gives him scenarios to see what he would do.

You can’t go home again. That old saying rang true when Brett Favre had the door to Green Bay slammed in his face. The same place where he used to walk on water – and the Frozen Tundra – at first tried to be subtle in telling the grizzled veteran quarterback that they were all better off if he stayed away. But Favre wouldn’t accept that and forced a trade, one that even he called “unique” and surprising.

Perhaps the most unlikely of suitors were the Jets, and that’s exactly how this thing played out. When Favre was introduced during a hurried press conference in Cleveland, he, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and team owner Woody Johnson all appeared as if they stayed at the biggest party of the summer too late – exhausted, but glad that they did it.

“Did I ever think that this scenario would present itself?” Favre asked himself. “No.” That may be attributed to the fact that the legendary signal-caller would have preferred staying a Packer or being dealt within the NFC North. Neither was in the cards, so he finds himself in New York…er, New Jersey.

The story has been told ad naseum. Favre has waffled on retirement for years now and has two left on his original contract he signed with Green Bay. It remains to be seen if he will honor that with his new team, or give it one last go and finally call it a day.

“I would keep our conversations private on that except to say that we are taking things season by season,” said Tannenbaum. “We are really happy to have him for the season and we will move forward from there.”

While that may not be a ringing endorsement for a multi-year commitment, even if Favre said he would play two it doesn’t mean anything. He can always walk away at any time. Given the fact that he is such a gamer and fiery competitor, the only way that would happen is if the Jets go through another disaster like last year (not likely, with all the improvements topped off with Favre) or a serious injury (also not likely, with him having played in every game since 1993).

It’s hard to find much fault with this trade, especially when you factor in what Favre brings to the table besides touchdown passes. Yes, he did take a step back in both 2005 and 2006, but he had an excellent season a year ago and may have thrown his worst pass of the season on his last attempt. Corey Webster’s interception in overtime of the NFC Championship Game set up a winning field goal attempt for the Giants.

Looking at what will actually change hands, the conditional fourth round draft pick can go up to a first round if the Jets make the Super Bowl. Even ‘half-empty glass’ guys like WFAN’s Joe Benigno would sign for that right now.

The move ended the Chad Pennington era in New York. While he may not have been able to zip it in there like Favre, he does hold the highest completion percentage in NFL history. Pennington was an accurate passer and a good leader, so losing him – even if he stayed on as a back-up – is tough, and something not lost on Tannenbaum. “This is a bittersweet moment,” the GM said. “I have the greatest respect in the world for Chad.”

If Favre goes down for any extended period of time, the Jets will have to trust Kellen Clemens to keep the position warm. The third-year player was behind in an open competition during training camp with Pennington, and was not effective during eight starts in 2007.

Is Favre worth at least six more wins? In the ultra-competitive AFC, it will take 10 wins to make the playoffs. With all of their new editions, that is definitely a possibility. For that to transcend from paper to the field, a general such as Favre is a good step in the right direction.

One that may end with a parade on Broadway? Let’s get through the preseason first.