More on the Cowboys search for a head coach

49ers head coach Mike Nolan just said the Cowboys have not asked for permission to speak with Turner (right). However, I got the impression Turner would be allowed to speak.

Also, Phillips, whose dad lives on a big ranch near Victoria, Texas, hasn't spoken with anyone associated with the Cowboys.

"The system is to try to get the players that are on the field to utilize their talent," [Wade] Phillips said. "They say 3-4, but the guys that can rush we try to rush `em ---- you saw (Steve) Foley last year and (Shawne) Merriman this year ---- and players that do things, whatever it is they do well, we try to get them (there). Whether it's playing man-to-man, play zone or whatever it is."

Nowhere is that more apparent than in the linebacking corps. Because of injuries, Phillips has had to mix and match to patch holes.

Alongside the venerable Donnie Edwards ---- the unit's only constant ---- have been run stuffers Randall Godfrey, Stephen Cooper, Ben Leber and Matt Wilhelm, and pass rushers Foley, Merriman and Shaun Phillips.

Despite constant shuffling, the unit's effectiveness has stayed constant.

"We've had three and four starters out the last few games and we've played well," Phillips said. "We've got a lot of good linebackers, but you have to.

"(Management has) done a good job of getting us strengthened at areas."

Dan Reeves, who appeared in nine Super Bowls as player or coach during a 37-year NFL career, wants to talk to the Dallas Cowboys about the coaching vacancy left by Bill Parcells' retirement.

Speaking yesterday from his vacation home at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in north Georgia, Reeves said he phoned the Cowboys on Monday to express interest in the job.

It was in the Parcells' regime that Ireland was elevated to the franchise's top scout two years ago. In the two drafts that he ran for the Cowboys, the ratings and evaluations were based on the prototypical "Parcells Players." It was a prototype that Ireland mostly agreed with, as did Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones.

Although Ireland's tastes run in similar patterns to that of Parcells, he is a man who insists that whatever the preference of the new coach, he will find the players that fit.

There is one potential catch: Ireland does not know he will be returning in the same title under the new head coach. It's presumed he will.

"Jerry sent word to me. He knows I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing," Ireland said. "The Jones's are going to lean on me more than ever. I accept that. It drives me even harder to find the right person if that's what they want me to do."

With speculation buzzing in Mobile about who will coach the Dallas Cowboys in '07, the scouting staff spends its days rating players according to the same parameters they used previously. They interviewed some of college footballs more distinguished seniors using the same questions as before.

If Ireland has a question for Parcells, he has the number.

"He's a friend. I don't know if I'll consult with him," he said. "I'll ask him, as a friend, what his opinion is. We have that type of relationship."