My stomach started churning when I read recently about Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones's comments regarding Terrell Owens, his ability to still play and hopes that the player would reach out to him as a friend.
Jones has denounced the notion that Dallas is in the mix for the talented but maligned wide receiver and has said the Cowboys, at this time anyway, will sit pat at the position. But, as anyone who has followed the team since Jones bought it in the late '80s knows, where there's smoke in regards to Jones, there is fire.
A fan mutiny could take place if the decision was made to bring in Owens. There's no question that he would be a serviceable third receiver. The question that would come by the Cowboys Stadium load centers on how long it would be before he started where he left off with the internal dismantling of the team's chemistry.
One season he cried in front of the media, protecting Tony Romo with his famous "that's my quarterback" line. Soon after, Owens threw his quarterback and tight end Jason Witten under the bus, pointedly claiming the pair was colluding and keeping the ball away from him. On and on it went.
Granted, his last couple years in the league were quiet for Owens' standards. He didn't produce huge numbers, but he played well and, for the most part, was a good team mate.
But the old Owens couldn't hide forever. He was released by the Allen Wranglers, an Indoor Football League team in North Texas, for breach of contract, in a nut shell. Owens, part owner of the team, made the decision that he wouldn't travel with the team on two road games. The powers that be decided that wasn't going to work and sent Owens packing.
He's still trying to get back into the league, even taking measures such as firing agent Drew Rosenhaus, an individual with just as big a personality and ego as Owens. I'm not one to really believe in coincidences, but Owens replaced Rosenhaus with Dallas-based agent Jordan Woy.
My hope is that Jones has really moved the majority of personnel moves to his son, Stephen. If that's the case, Owens will not be in a Cowboys uniform. If the senior Jones is still calling the shots, get your popcorn ready.
John Ingle is a graduate of the Midwestern State University Mass Communication program with an emphasis in journalism. He is a life-long Dallas Cowboys and football fan dating back to the late 1970s and has had covered the Cowboys as a journalism intern during two training camps at MSU. Follow him on Twitter @inglejohn1973.
