The man had probably the worst day-after-a-debacle Monday alibi session in the history of the Cowboys franchise, and he accomplished this low point by simply opening his mouth.

Then by yesterday, it became official Jason Garrett would be coming back as the offensive coordinator, turning down opportunities to be head coach of the Ravens or Falcons.

This is good news, of course, for the Cowboys, but I'd wager Wade won't exactly be popping the cork on a bottle of Dom.

Plus, if you go back to Sunday's game, the futility of the Cowboys' offense in the final minutes will be a memory stain that spills over into next season, yet . . .

There was also that sorry sideline scene when Jerry Jones not only invaded the "bench box," but suddenly attached himself to the hip of the head coach right there for all the world to see.

An owner who cares anything about the image of his head coach simply does not go there. Long ago, Jerry was once observed running up to Barry Switzer in the box to offer some sort of urgent advice. But in my memory, I've never seen Jones permanently park himself next to the head coach in a tense moment.

I'd call this a lack of respect for Wade. If you want to describe it as a "puppet" show, that's also OK.

But in this autopsy week for the Cowboys, here's a breakdown, good and bad, of the on-going events:

—When the offense and Tony Romo tailed off badly at the end of the season, it was assumed this would tarnish Garrett's label as the NFL's next bright young head coaching candidate.

Wrong. He was hotter than ever. Actually, Jason's judgment this week will be debated around the league, and the general consensus will be he made a mistake, particularly in turning down the Ravens.

Most NFL people live by the code that there's only 32 of these jobs, so it's crazy to pass one up, much less two. But one of the bright offensive minds of the game, the now-retired Ernie Zampese, had a different theory.

Ernie would say if you don't have a quarterback with either proven talent or immense potential, then it's not a job, it's a coaching death sentence.

Garrett played for Zampese when Ernie was here as offensive coordinator. By applying the Ernie Rule, you can see why Jason said no to the Ravens and Falcons, particularly since it's obvious Jerry was making private promises for the future.

Garrett will eventually get his head coaching wish, and it will be here, while currently being paid (close to $3 million a year) the highest salary for an assistant ever in the league. Wade's money is in that same area, another bad omen for Phillips.

The "Wade Watch" begins with Game 1 of the `08 season.

—Tony Romo will have enough on his mind going into next season, based on everything that swirled around Sunday's sudden demise. What Romo absolutely didn't need was a new system or a new offensive voice to deal with.

Garrett, you might say, was a head coach here this season. He was head coach of the offense. Phillips does not wander into that area.

But there was no doubt about Jason's No. 1 challenge, by far, when he was hired a year ago. Romo had to take that "next step" from 2006.

Over the first three months, Romo took two steps forward. If we deduct for December and the playoff game, the math shows a one-step advancement, meaning Garrett was a success in this particular area, although he receives the same indictment as Phillips for the loss to the Giants.

—Garrett staying here leads to immediate speculation, valid speculation, that Jerry Jones is creating coaching chaos at Valley Ranch.

What Jerry has done is make Phillips almost a lame-duck coach. Wade's replacement is already in place, and now Garrett has a year of coordinator seasoning in only his third year as an NFL assistant.

But the Jones' ground rules were also in place when Phillips took the job, so shed no tears for Wade. When you go to work for Jerry, it's not going to be normal.

And after Phillips verbally stumbled his way through an embarrassing mess of a media session Monday, it's hard to imagine harmony on the coach staff would have prevailed anyway.

Besides his usual "all is well, we won 13 games" drivel, Phillips repeatedly hinted Monday the defense did its job against the Giants, but the offense failed to produce. Strange and stupid finger-pointing from a head coach.

Reality says the defense was also a failure, right along with the offense. But Phillips came across as both paranoid and self-promoting.

There isn't an offensive coach on the staff who could have been pleased about what they heard from the head coach Monday.

So Phillips had already created turmoil even before Garrett decided to stay, and what Wade thinks about Jason coming back really doesn't matter. It's the best thing for Romo, therefore it's the best thing for the Cowboys.

—How is Norv Turner doing out in San Diego? Just wondering if you now finally realize Jerry hired the wrong guy for head coach a year ago.

Two last things: