Dallas Cowboys Held Discussions With Hue Jackson

Apparently the Hue Jackson to Dallas Cowboys story isn't quite as dead as we were led to believe.

With Jackson being a prominent option as an offensive coordinator due to his experience, interviewed at one point for the position in Carolina, the idea of Jackson linked to Dallas was contingent of owner Jerry Jones stripping the play-calling label from head coach Jason Garrett. And by strip, we mean forcefully removed.

According to reporters talking with owner Jerry Jones during a Q&A at the Senior Bowl on Tuesday, Jones said that someone other than Garrett would be the team's play-caller. That led many to conclude that it would be team's offensive coordinator and line coach Bill Callahan. Yet the timing couldn't have been more perfect with former Raiders receiver Tim Brown accusing his former head coach of wanting to lose the Super Bowl -- something that Jerry Rice corroborated. However no official announcement regarding Dallas' new play-caller has actually been made.

While the NFL world loses their mind about that, Calvin Watkins with ESPNDallas.com writes, with an 8:21 p.m. (ET) timestamp, that the Cowboys have already held discussions with Bengals assistant coach Hue Jackson.

Also, multiple sources said the Cowboys have held discussions with former Oakland Raiders coach Hue Jackson about joining the staff in some capacity on offense. Originally the discussions revolved around Jackson becoming the offensive coordinator but they now have moved toward possibly adding Jackson to another position.

This poses a problem.

In order for the Dallas Cowboys to hold discussions with Jackson, they're required to ask for permission from the Cincinnati Bengals because Jackson remains under contract. According to Marvin Lewis, through Ian Rapoport with the NFL Network, no permission had been given as of 6:42 p.m. (ET).

At this point we can assume two things: that Jackson is still in the running as a play-caller and that the Cowboys really want him in some capacity.