T.O. knows the stakes and will perform for Parcells

	Jerry Jones (left) hands wide receiver Terrell Owens his new Cowboys jersey on Saturday in Irving, Texas. AP
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I chortle at those who think Terrell Owens and Bill Parcells will go to war. It won't happen. At least not in 2006 it won't. Beyond 2006? Who cares? Smart money says Parcells will take the gold watch and the golden parachute. For now, this is a one-year, live-for-today deal and a good one for the Cowboys.

Before we analyze the football side of this, let's look at the potential team-wrecking part. Nineteen years ago, I was a Giants beat man for Newsday in New York, covering the Lawrence Taylor-era Jints. Parcells had his way of dealing with Taylor's divisiveness. As Phil Simms told me Sunday, "He'd say, 'Simms, lose a few battles. Win the war.'" Parcells figured out how to get the most out of the curfew-abusing, drug-doing, meeting-sleeping, totally irreverent Taylor, who might well have flamed out under many other coaches. Parcells challenged him, he coddled him, he made some of the responsible guys on the team -- Joe Morris, Robbie Jones -- absolutely mad with anger over LT's preferential treatment. But as Parcells would say, "I'm not interested in being fair. I'm interested in being right.'' That's why he's the right coach at the right time for Owens.

I heard Chris Mortensen say something very intelligent on ESPN on Sunday -- that one fight could be looming because Parcells doesn't let guys get hurt. Parcells won't acknowledge any but the worst injuries, and guys better practice or they're going to be out the door. Mort pointed out that T.O.'s recent history of groin injuries won't go over well with Parcells. What'll happen when Iron Coach makes Glass Groin take the practice field when Mr. Groin is subpar? That could be a mess. My theory? Parcells will never let it get to that point. He knows Owens will be in tremendous physical condition when he gets to training camp, and he won't make him do every drill and play every play with the first team.

This is not a good deal for Dallas. It is a fantastic deal. Owens is a great football player in a 14-year-old boy's body. But the only thing in this paragraph that matters are the words "Owens is a great football player.'' You think Parcells hasn't had some wackos before? He put private investigators on the tail of two wide receivers the week of the Giants' Super Bowl with Denver -- and told the guys, Lionel Manuel and Bobby Johnson, he was doing it. He'll find out what it takes to deal with Owens, and for a year at least, it'll be the Nirvana Cowboys.