Dan Reeves: The Light at the End of the Tunnel?

There still has yet to be any official word on what position Dan Reeves will fill with the Dallas Cowboys—or if he will even be brought in by the team—but this news has to be considered extremely promising for Dallas fans.

It is, after all, the smartest idea that’s come out of Valley Ranch since somebody had the genius notion to get rid of Pacman Jones.

The only other news emanating from the Cowboys ranges from the absurd to the trivial. 

Jerry Jones’ stubborn insistence on keeping Wade Phillips after watching the team he overpaid so dearly for regress this year tops the list of ludicrous news, and in terms of sensible ideas, ranks right up there with headbutting the sidewalk. 

But we can’t forget about the gaggle of reality shows that are making their way to Big D next season.

Yes, the future of this franchise isn’t looking especially bright right now, but this little gem of a rumor could be the first sign of better days to come.

Reeves would bring years of experience and football know-how to the table, only one of which is present under the current management.

He’s coached in four Super Bowls—three with the Denver Broncos and a fourth with the Atlanta Falcons. Reeves has even been named Coach of the Year before.  Can anything like that be said of the current regime?

This position, a yet-to-be-named consultant job, doesn’t really matter. What’s important is that maybe, just maybe, Jerry might have seen the light.  Start as a consultant, and then who knows? 

Reeves could end up as the next head coach of the Cowboys, which would be a delicious bit of irony, since Phillips has twice replaced Reeves for head coaching jobs in the past.

Naturally, Dallas fans have every reason to be skeptical of this news.  The lone figures of true authority since Jerry turned America’s Team into his own personal fantasy football team were Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells, neither of whom served especially long or happy tenures under the meddlesome owner.

But those times—the Super Bowl days of Johnson’s Cowboys and the Parcells renaissance when men who knew football and weren't afraid to stand up to the owner—have been the brightest spots during Jerry’s reign of terror. They are much brighter than this team, which set its expectations high, but falls short of them because of the owner and current coach’s incessant coddling.

Surely, Jerry Jones wouldn’t bother with Reeves if he had no intention of heeding his advice. And Reeves is hardly the kind of man who’d accept an imaginary position of authority created simply to appease Jerry’s disenfranchised fanbase right before the opening of the billion-dollar "Jerry Jones Flying Circus Extravaganza" this year.

Maybe this really will usher in a new age of prosperity for the Cowboys—at least for a few years.