Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has just ordered all the exits blocked surrounding Valley Ranch. Earlier this morning, several assistant coaches were seen hurdling the hedges surrounding the practice field on their way to interview with other teams.
Jones has tried to remain positive about the prospect of losing his top two assistants on offense, but he's fighting a losing battle with Cowboys fans. A few moments ago, a Cowboys source confirmed to Hashmarks that assistant head coach Tony Sparano will be boarding one of Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga's private jets one hour from now.
Sparano will meet with Huizenga, his old boss Bill Parcells and GM Jeff Ireland for a "second interview" tonight, and I expect him to be named head coach tomorrow. This has been a foregone conclusion for weeks, but the Cowboys' 21-17 loss to the Giants obviously sped up the process.
Hopefully I'll be able to tell you something official late tonight. It's sort of a bittersweet time for Sparano. He took Sunday's loss to the Giants as hard as anyone and probably feels some guilt about having to move on so quickly.
But after a couple of glasses of red wine on South Beach tonight, Sparano may have a better outlook. Negotiations shouldn't take too long since Sparano and Parcells share the same agent in Jimmy Sexton.
If you're in the Dallas area, I'll have a lot more on this situation tonight at 5 p.m. on ESPN 103.3's "Tuesday with Mosley" hour.
