Barry Switzer

They have been the scourge of the NFL, winning the Super Bowl three times in four seasons with a flash-and-dazzle offense that averaged 33.5 points a game - in playoff competition. But the Dallas Cowboys who face the Eagles tonight at Veterans Stadium are hardly so potent these days. Injuries, drug suspensions, age and free agency have turned the quick-strike, big-play offense into 11 guys in search of a first down. The Cowboys are averaging only 16 points a game. They have scored the anemic total of 19 points in the second half, including just one field goal in four third quarters.

Dallas coach Barry Switzer got a big vote of confidence from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones heading into the NFL playoffs: continuance of his five-year rollover contract. Jones said "we will continue" Switzer's contract, which is set up to roll over every year. Switzer is now under contract through the 1999 season. "I'm bolstered by the prospect of long-term progress with Barry Switzer, and there's a good feeling on my part," Jones said. "I'm looking for even a better, more productive Barry Switzer in the future.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, trying to dismiss rumors that Barry Switzer is in his last year as coach, insisted Switzer will be around well into the next century. The defending Super Bowl champion Cowboys have lost two of their first three games. "Barry Switzer is more vital today than he was when he got here three years ago," Jones said yesterday. "I think of Barry Switzer coaching the Cowboys 10 years from now. He is my coach and my only coach for a long time to come.

Barry Switzer, a determined look on that Marlboro Man face, hopped off a grandstand as confidently and quickly as a Pony Express rider dismounting. As the Cowboys coach strode toward a ragged crowd of Super Bowl inquisitors yesterday morning, a nervous club employee approached. Switzer listened attentively to the message, wrapped a reassuring arm around the young woman's shoulders and, after a brief response, sent her away smiling. He then resumed his short journey in the manner of a politician working a Labor Day barbecue - shaking hands, laughing, hugging.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones contacted Barry Switzer immediately after reaching a settlement with coach Jimmy Johnson and considers the former Oklahoma coach his top candidate as Johnson's replacement, a source close to the team said. "If I was offered the job, I probably would accept it," Switzer told the Daily Oklahoman by car phone yesterday, moments after Johnson resigned as coach of the Super Bowl champions. "But it's too premature to talk about anything that would affect that opportunity.

The University of Oklahoma scheduled a press conference for this morning to name its new football coach, and a source close to the program told the Associated Press that a leading candidate is Gary Gibbs, the team's defensive coordinator. Gibbs, 36, has been with the Sooners since 1975 and has been defensive coordinator since 1981 under Barry Switzer, who abruptly resigned yesterday. Another possible successor is thought to be assistant head coach Merv Johnson, 53, a staff member since 1979.

Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer has decided ailing running back Emmitt Smith needs to be rested during games until he gets back to full strength. That means the Eagles' defense should get a look at Sherman Williams Monday night when Dallas (1-3) visits Veterans Stadium. Smith has bruised ribs and a sore neck, knee and ankle. He has averaged only 3.3 yards per carry, gained just 25 yards in his last game and is already 140 yards behind Washington's Terry Allen for the NFL rushing lead.

Dick Vermeil knows a little something about making the coaching jump from college to the NFL. He did it in 1976, leaving UCLA to become the Eagles' head coach. "But I had one big advantage over Barry Switzer," said Vermeil, who took the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 1980. "I had been an NFL assistant for four years (with the Rams) before going back (to college coaching). So I had a little feel for it. " Switzer, who was named the Dallas Cowboys' head coach yesterday, hasn't coached anywhere in five years.

Barry Switzer, speaking to the Associated Press Sports Editors convention in Austin, Texas, was stumped by a question. Asked to characterize the competition in the NFC East, the new coach of the Dallas Cowboys paused and said, "Uh, who even plays in that league?" Switzer quickly recovered with a smile and acknowledged, "All I'm doing is putting names and faces together right now. I know who plays in the Big Eight. " Switzer, who has been out of football since resigning at Oklahoma in 1989, formerly coached in the Big Eight.

Deion Sanders lost his usual cool in the Dallas Cowboys locker room at Valley Ranch yesterday, ripping media coverage that has been critical of coach Barry Switzer following Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Eagles. "This was a team loss and nobody should take the blame," said Sanders, who broke his monthlong code of silence by seeking out cameramen and local writers. "How can you blame Barry Switzer? A coach doesn't win or lose games. "The last coach I saw on the field was Woody Hayes.

Barry Switzer yesterday finally concurred with what his many detractors had been saying and resigned as coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Agreeing in a statement that the Cowboys, 6-10 this season and out of the playoffs for the first time in seven years, needed a "fresh start," Switzer stepped down instead of waiting to be fired by team owner Jerry Jones. Jones, who said he had mulled over the team's future for the last three weeks, indicated that Switzer would have been fired had he not quit.

The embattled Barry Switzer left open the possibility that he will retire as coach of the Dallas Cowboys. "I don't know whether I'd want to be coach next season," a disgusted Switzer said after the Cowboys capped their worst season since 1989 with a dreary 20-7 loss yesterday to the New York Giants at a half-full Texas Stadium. Switzer, 60, whose team finished 6-10 in his fourth season since replacing Jimmy Johnson in March 1994, confirmed he has had recent discussions with owner Jerry Jones about a different role within the Cowboys organization.

Barry Switzer isn't blaming himself for the Dallas Cowboys' failed season. "I did as good a job as when we won the Super Bowl, probably a little bit better, considering some of the younger players," he said yesterday. Dallas has won three Super Bowls in the 1990s, including one in Switzer's second season as coach, 1995. This season, a combination of injuries, age and undisciplined play has led to a 6-9 record, putting Switzer's job in jeopardy. Owner Jerry Jones has steadfastly refused to say whether Switzer and his assistants will be back.

Troy Aikman's future with the Dallas Cowboys is certain even if Barry Switzer's isn't. Aikman, not a big backer of his head coach, said yesterday he'll return next season as the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback. In the Valley Ranch rumor mill, this was another sign that Switzer might not return because he doesn't teach the discipline Aikman believes is necessary to win. With a 31-24 loss Sunday to Cincinnati, the mistake-plagued Cowboys are 6-9 and out of the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer, who was arrested last summer carrying a loaded pistol in his luggage at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge yesterday in Fort Worth. Switzer was fined $3,500 and was given deferred adjudication, meaning if he completes probation successfully the charge will be erased from his record. He also agreed in a plea agreement to serve 80 hours of public service as a condition of his probation. Carrying a handgun without a permit is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer says he thinks defensive tackle Leon Lett will be an impact player when he returns from his one-year suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. Lett, who has met with league officials and filed for reinstatement, is expected to return for the Cowboys' Monday night game against Carolina on Dec. 8. "I haven't seen him in 10 months, but I understand he's in good shape and plays a lot of basketball," Switzer said. "I think he'd step in and be a force right away.

Still fuming at what he had just witnessed, Barry Switzer dispensed with the usual coaching pleasantries. The host New York Giants weren't going to get much credit from the Dallas coach for upending his reeling team, 20-17, in an NFC East matchup. The Cowboys were going to get all the blame. "We beat ourselves," Switzer said, almost spitting his words. "The better team got their butts beat today because it made too many mistakes. " Switzer's "better team" committed 11 penalties for 119 yards, watched quarterback Troy Aikman throw two huge interceptions and sputtered once again inside the opponent's 20-yard line.

Three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Seth Joyner of the Green Bay Packers won't play against the Chicago Bears tomorrow night because of a sore left knee. Joyner, a former Eagle who played the last three years for Arizona, had an arthroscopic exam yesterday, but the results won't be known until today at the earliest. Although Joyner had failed to earn a starting job after joining the Packers on July 18, coach Mike Holmgren and defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur said last week that he would play in various defensive packages and on special teams against the Bears.

As Barry Switzer and some of his players were leaving Texas Stadium yesterday, an hour or so after losing to the Eagles at home for the first time in five seasons, the Cowboys coach said, "Talk to Troy tomorrow. He's going to need it. " Switzer, of course, was referring to quarterback Troy Aikman, his volatile team's unflappable leader whose precision passing has taken the Cowboys to three of the last four Super Bowl championships, but whose end-zone pass was intercepted in the final minute yesterday, ensuring the Eagles' victory.

Sweating as if layered in lycra, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones rushed from the upstairs press box to the sideline Sunday with the urgency of a man about to lose a rare opportunity. Ahead comfortably against the Miami Dolphins with two minutes left in the game, Dallas had a first down on Miami's 7-yard line. Plenty of time to score another touchdown, to push the final score to 36-10, to drub the coach whom Jones divorced after two Super Bowls, Jimmy Johnson. Plenty of time, that is, if the head coach who replaced Johnson would agree to it. Barry Switzer smiled at Jones and waved him off with a single hand.