FanHouse WadePhillips

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Excluding Brett Favre, which remaining free agent can play the biggest role in 2009?

The easy answer (INCLUDING Brett Favre!!) is Plaxico Burress. He's a high-ceiling, high-impact wide receiver. You saw the way the Giants' offense missed him at the end of 2008, and we've seen a handful of teams express interest in him -- even though nobody knows if he's going to play in 2009. If he is allowed to play, he's your answer. But it looks increasingly likely that he'll be suspended for at least part of the season, if not all. So in the non-Burress division, I have three veterans who could make an interesting impact in the right situation:

Wade Phillips isn't much to look at, but neither is Bill Belichick. The difference: one comes off as a grandfatherly Gomer Pyle, the other dresses like a hobo -- but has three Super Bowl rings. The point: people don't care how you clean up when you're winning.

So while the "Aw, shucks" persona is perfectly acceptable if you're running a roadside vegetable stand, it's less so as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, an outfit that last won a playoff game in 1996. Fans used to winning are fickle that way.

But according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Mac Engel, don't let Wade's cuddly exterior fool you. Despite appearances, he really does know what he's doing.

CARROLLTON, Texas -- DeMarcus Ware led the NFL in sacks last season with a career-high 20. The Cowboys outside linebacker didn't receive the league Defensive Player of the Year award for his efforts, though -- that went to James Harrison of the Steelers.

But Ware is not too concerned about awards. He wants more pressures, more victories, and of course, more money.

Former Cowboys defensive coordinator Brian Stewart has joined the Eagles coaching staff, according to various reports. Stewart spent the last two seasons in Dallas before he was fired following the 2008 season. with one year remaining on his contract.

Stewart did not return a call seeking comment.

In Dallas, Stewart had his play-calling duties taken away from him at midseason and fell out of favor with coach Wade Phillips, whom he considered a close friend. Several players were split about how they felt about Stewart.

The Eagles made this move because of the uncertainty of current defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. Johnson has taken a leave of absence while he undergoes treatment for a cancerous tumor on his spine.

The first day of minicamps are over for the day and we recap some highlights.

Vikings coach Brad Childress could have taken the easy way out Friday when asked about retired quarterback Brett Favre.

Instead he said, "We haven't (talked about Favre); it doesn't mean we won't ... We talk about everything, from what's going on in the United States today. We talk about everything, so yeah, I'm sure we'll talk about that."

Earlier in the day, Bus Cook, Favre's agent said his client was done playing. Also, top draft choice Percy Harvin missed the first day of rookie camp but he seems OK.

One of the unintended consequences of releasing Terrell Owens is that now there's no one around to take the focus off Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips. (On the upside, the offense is now "Romo-friendly," so there's that.) In previous seasons, Phillips' shortcomings were partly overshadowed by anything T.O. might do, no matter how seemingly benign.

Now, though, when we aren't talking about Tony Romo, the conversation falls squarely on the guy responsible for benching Doug Flutie for Rob Johnson. I have a vague notion of how this is going to end.

At the annual NFL meetings earlier this week, Phillips offered this thoughts on how long it takes to evaluate a head coach. (Presumably, his response is autobiographical, though he could've been speaking in generalities.)

The Jerry Jones Cowboys are in the midst of an offseason makeover. Assistant coaches have been fired, big-named players have been released, and others have been signed to replace them, all in an effort to put the 2008 debaclement quickly in the rearview.

You might've heard that Dallas hasn't won a playoff game since 1996, and if that doesn't change next season, SI.com's Ross Tucker thinks quarterback Tony Romo should take the fall. Not Wade Phillips or Jason Garrett or Jones -- Jessica Simpson's boyfriend.

For the Dallas Cowboys, a team that entered 2008 with Super Bowl expectations only to finish the year with nine wins and no playoffs, there haven't been many changes this offseason. The defensive coordinator and special teams coach were fired and Pacman Jones was released.

Other than that, though, not much has changed. Not 'til combine week, anyway. Jerry Jones slapped his coaching staff with a gag order -- nobody can talk to the media "independently" -- because, as the Dallas Morning News' Todd Archer writes, the Cowboys owner "has been upset with what he feels have been inaccurate stories this offseason."

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

You could use just about every adjective for "crazy" to describe the '08 Dallas Cowboys. At the beginning of the year, they were expected to produce, but never did. Quarterback Tony Romo struggled with injury issues and the ability to step up in big games. They still had a chance to advance to the playoffs but couldn't take down Donovan McNabb and company in the last week of the season. Oh, and Adam "Pacman" Jones and Terrell Owens were as psycho as ever. A lot needs to change in Dallas during the offseason to make the Cowboys a contender in their new stadium.

The Cowboys fired Brian Stewart last month, quite possibly because he was earning a defensive coordinator's salary but wasn't actually coordinating the defense.

Head coach Wade Phillips commandeered the play-calling duties from Stewart back in October, and the defense improved -- up till Week 15, anyway; two late-season no-shows against the Ravens and Eagles sealed the team's playoff fate. During a Tuesday presser, however, owner Jerry Jones announced that he wouldn't hire a replacement for Stewart because the current coordinator is already on the payroll. And he loves puffy jackets.