Jerry’s Management Style is Off-Key

By Jennifer Floyd Engel

Do not worry about Tony Romo, at least not for the reason everybody thinks.

Proof positive of his happy-go-lucky, post-"The Snap" mind-set has been floating around on YouTube.com in the form of footage of him karaoke-ing Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing at L.A.’s hip Key Club.

View at your own risk Romo gloriously and savagely butchering vintage Steve Perry, with help from Mr. Belding of Saved by the Bell fame.

For anybody brave enough to Google, be prepared to giggle.

Somewhat less amusing, back at Valley Ranch, Owner Jones appears to be singing right along and providing a legit reason to worry.

In typical Jerry-esque fashion, he has allowed his belief in Romo and what Romo may become to blind him to the reality that his young QB remains very much a work in progress.

What happened to grooming Romo being Priority No. 1? Or at least No. 1A?

We are a week into the Wade Phillips era and we still have no solid idea who exactly is charged with developing Jerry’s pride and joy. Hiring offensive coaches and assigning duties to those already in place seem to rank somewhere just below organizing a team for Family Feud.

Obviously Owner Jones’ official Boy Wonder, Jason Garrett, has a role in flipping Romo into a Super Bowl-caliber QB. What that role is remains a mystery for some reason.

My educated guess is offensive coordinator. I base this on Owner Jones prying Garrett away from Miami with talk of making him Bill Parcells’ replacement or OC. And since he’s not the former…

Of course, Owner Jones has a long and recent history of changing his mind. See Wade Phillips.

Fixing the defense was a legit priority, and hiring Phillips was a good move. What is crazy stupid is this quantum leap in which grooming Romo was what he needed most from a coach to his seemingly new philosophy of "Don’t worry about Romo."

Nobody is arguing Romo is not the brightest spot on this Cowboys team.

But just because Romo is not nearly as in need of saving as Roy Willy and Marcus Spears does not mean he is wash-and-go. He needs gobs of TLC. Daily. Until further notice.

Don’t believe me on this. Believe Norv.

He may not be my ideal coaching candidate, but Norv Turner obviously knows a little something about quarterbacks. And Owner Jones would be wise to flash back to his interview with Norv, specifically what Norv had to say about Romo.

"He’s dripping with guts and potential, but he needs to learn to control his inner Brett Favre."

"He’s wickedly talented, but he needs constant coaching."

"He has many good years ahead of him, but he’s at a vulnerable stage and needs to be handled right."

"He’s going to be good, but he needs help."

What seems to have been lost in the translation are the "but" clauses, because more helpers are leaving than arriving.

In less than a month, Romo has lost his Yoda, Bill Parcells, and his Obi-Wan Kenobi, David Lee, and his quarterback coach, Chris Palmer, and his offensive coordinator, Tony Sparano.

Or, at least, we think Sparano is no longer OC.

That job theoretically belongs to Garrett. He, of course, is going to be busy between coordinating the offense, calling plays for the first time in the NFL and mentoring Romo.

Maybe, in his free time, he’ll be able to tutor Romo on what songs to steer clear of during karaoke as well.

Other names are floating about for inclusion on Team Romo, including Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst. I do not know anything about him other than he is probably not going to be the veteran voice that Norv suggested Garrett needs.

This is not to say Norv is the authority on all things Cowboys, but he is good friends with Garrett, so his advice to Owner Jones was unlikely just a case of sour grapes.

He told Jerry to find somebody to groom Garrett, the guy we think is in charge of grooming Romo. I say "we think" because Garrett’s role remains fuzzy.

There are a lot of "fuzzys" and "we thinks" and "hopefullys" surrounding the guy who is expected to be the long-term answer at quarterback. Too many.

The Cowboys are talking about signing Romo to a long-term extension this off-season, yet have failed to invest in their investment with experienced coaches and a firm plan on how to help him realize his potential.

So don’t stop believing, Jerry.

Just don’t forget who this kid is. He is never going to be Bono, and he is not likely to become Aikman if you do not make his development a priority.

Jennifer Floyd Engel can be heard weekdays 9 a.m.-noon on The Little Ball of Hate Show on ESPN/103.3 FM.

Jennifer Floyd Engel, 817-390-7760 jenfloyd@star-telegram.com