The Cowboys were denied permission to talk to Falcons secondary coach Emmitt Thomas. That’s a shame because he is highly respected in NFL circles. The Falcons made the right move to keep him, but I wouldn’t have minded seeing him end up in Dallas.

Here’s some news on potential replacements.

Phillips said he is considering one or two college coaches for the positions.

Another potential secondary coach candidate Phillips indicated might be a possibility is Baltimore Ravens assistant Dennis Thurman, a former Cowboys defensive back from 1978-85. Thurman said he would love the opportunity to return to Dallas, but has not been contacted by the Cowboys and was in Mobile.

I guess the Cowboys are waiting to see what happens in Baltimore with their new coach before contacting Thurman. He's still under contract with the Ravens, but the new coach might want to bring in his own guys so Thurman’s future is unclear. And I have no idea about the college coaches that Phillips is considering.

As for a linebackers coach, the name John Pagano keeps coming up but no one has confirmed any interest or contact with him. Pagano is the linebackers coach in San Diego who worked with Phillips when he was over there.

The Star-T also has some free agent tidbits.

Cowboys running back Julius Jones is seeking a new start and will test free agency as he searches to become a featured back in another city.

Jones’ agent Ken Kremer, while attending the Senior Bowl workouts, said his client will field some "very strong offers’’ from teams once free agency begins Feb. 29.

In some ways, I’m kind of sad about this because after JJ’s rookie year I had such high hopes for the kid. But he never progressed from that point and it could be argued that he regressed. Good luck wherever you land, JJ.

Also, Flozell says he wants to stay with Dallas and end his career. But as always, his agent says that sounds good, but is keeping the door open to other teams.

"I wouldn’t rule anything out,’’ Adams’ agent Roosevelt Barnes said at the Senior Bowl. "But he definitely wants to stay.’’

We signed another player.

The Cowboys signed defensive tackle Junior Siavii to their reserve/future list. Siavii played with Kansas City from 2004-2005 after being a second-round pick by Kansas City in the 2004 NFL Draft (36th overall).