When the Dallas Cowboys play Miami on Thanksgiving Day, a lot of familiar faces will be on the Dolphins side of the field. A total of 12 former Dallas Cowboys currently work or play for the Dolphins.

Jeff Ireland – When Bill Parcells left Dallas and headed to Miami, the first person he hired was Cowboys scouting director Jeff Ireland. Starting in 2001 at Dallas, he scouted players such as Roy Williams, Andre Gurode(notes), Terrence Newman and Jason Witten(notes). In 2005, he received a promotion to the head of scouting and served there until Parcells hired him away in 2008 to be the new Miami general manager, a position he has held since.

Tony Sparano – The first hire that Ireland made as general manager was Tony Sparano as head coach. Sparano worked for Parcells in Dallas, originally as the tight ends coach in 2003 and eventually becoming the team’s assistant head coach. Sparano called the plays in 2006 and eventually gave that up to Jason Garrett in 2007. In 2008, he took over as the head coach at Miami.

Anthony Fasano(notes) – Dallas drafted Anthony Fasano in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft, despite the fact that Jason Witten was already a star at the tight end position. Fasano played alongside Witten in the Cowboys lineup but was nothing more than a luxury. Dallas traded Fasano to Miami in 2008 where he has caught 121 passes for 1,579 yards and 17 touchdowns since arriving in Miami.

Marc Colombo(notes) – Marc Colombo began his career in Chicago but signed with Dallas as a free agent in 2005. A powerful offensive tackle, he stepped right into the starting right tackle role and blocked for an offense that scored 425 points, the fourth most in the NFL, and averaged 360.8 yards a game, the most for Dallas since 1995. After breaking his left fibula in 2010, Dallas released him after the season. He signed with Miami this year.

Igor Olshansky(notes) – Defensive end Igor Olshansky signed a four-year deal in 2009. In his first two years, he accumulated 78 tackles before they released Olshansky after the 2010 season. He signed with Miami in the off-season and has played in eight games for Miami, not starting a game.

Kevin Burnett(notes) – Dallas drafted linebacker Kevin Burnett in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. In his four years with Dallas, Burnett was strictly a role player and backup but still finished with 146 tackles, four sacks and one interceptions. He went to San Diego for two seasons after that, where he finally developed into a starter before joining Miami in 2011. He has started all ten games and has 56 tackles on the season.

Matt Moore(notes) – When Tony Romo(notes) was named quarterback, a youngster named Matt Moore was part of the quarterback roster and looked great in preseason, trying to earn a spot as the backup. Dallas waived him despite the solid play and he was quickly claimed by Carolina. Since that time, Moore has bounced between starter and backup at Carolina and now starts at Miami.

Brian Gaine (player personnel assistant director), Todd Bowles (secondary), Kacy Rodgers (defensive line coach) and Dan Campbell(notes) (tight ends coach) also used to work for the Cowboys and Will Barker(notes) played for Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2010.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has followed the Dallas Cowboys since he was a child, his favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s. Through the great years of the ’90s and the hard times of the ’80s, Shawn never turned his back on America’s Team.

Source: dallascowboys.com

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

IRVING — Andre Gurode was warned, just like everyone else on the
Dallas Cowboys. Under first-year coach Jason Garrett, jobs will be
won and lost based on how players perform in camp and preseason
games, not by what they’ve done in the past.

Having made the Pro Bowl the past five years wasn’t enough for
Gurode to keep his roster spot.

The Cowboys cut the veteran center Monday for a variety of
reasons including his age and salary, his decision to have knee
surgery so late in the offseason that it sidelined him for the
start of camp and by the performance by an undrafted, unproven
second-year player in Gurode’s absence.

“What we’ve said right from Day 1 is it doesn’t really matter
where you came from or what you’ve done in the past,” Garrett said.
“We’re going to try our best as coaches and evaluators to see what
you’re doing right now and see what you can do for us going
forward. We try to do that individually, we try to do that
collectively. We’re not in the business of trying to send a message
to the rest of the team. We’re trying to make the best decision for
our team.”

Still, the decision/message was clear to everyone, from veterans
who may feel comfortable to rookie free agents still trying to
prove themselves.

“That’s the way it should be,” veteran linebacker Keith Brooking
said. “I think when you can create that environment and that
message is sent throughout your team – and it’s not just a message,
there are examples that run through the team – I think that’s a
really good thing for everyone. That’s what pushes you, that’s what
makes you better. “

The Cowboys already had cut several other high-priced veterans,
including linemen Marc Colombo and Leonard Davis. By adding Gurode
to the list, Tony Romo’s blockers will include three inexperienced
linemen: Phil Costa at center, top pick Tyron Smith at right tackle
and seventh-rounder Bill Nagy at left guard.

Costa is the guy whose strong play pushed Gurode out the
door.

A hard worker as a rookie last year, he played in four games and
started once. He became the first-team center at the start of camp
because Gurode was on the physically unable to perform list.

Gurode got a chance to reclaim the job once he was healthy,
moving straight to the first team. But the Cowboys decided he
wasn’t so much better than Costa that he was worth keeping,not when
they could also save $5.5 million against the salary cap by cutting
Gurode.

They liked the idea of finding out what they might have in a
24-year-old instead of relying on a 32-year-old coming off knee
surgery.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Cowboys cut the veteran center Monday for a variety of reasons that included his age and salary, his decision to have knee surgery so late in the offseason that it sidelined him for the start of camp and by the performance by an undrafted, unproven second-year player in Gurode’s absence.

“What we’ve said right from Day 1 is it doesn’t really matter where you came from or what you’ve done in the past,” Garrett said. “We’re going to try our best as coaches and evaluators to see what you’re doing right now and see what you can do for us going forward. We try to do that individually, we try to do that collectively. We’re not in the business of trying to send a message to the rest of the team. We’re trying to make the best decision for our team.”

Still, the decision/message was clear to everyone, from veterans who may feel comfortable to rookie free agents still trying to prove themselves.

“That’s the way it should be,” veteran linebacker Keith Brooking said. “I think when you can create that environment and that message is sent throughout your team – and it’s not just a message, there are examples that run through the team – I think that’s a really good thing for everyone. That’s what pushes you, that’s what makes you better. “

The Cowboys already had cut several other high-priced veterans, including linemen Marc Colombo and Leonard Davis. By adding Gurode to the list, Tony Romo’s blockers will include three inexperienced linemen: Phil Costa at center, top pick Tyron Smith at right tackle and seventh-rounder Bill Nagy at left guard.

Costa is the guy whose strong play pushed Gurode out the door.

A hard worker as a rookie last year, he played in four games and started once, at left guard. He became the first-team center at the start of camp because Gurode was on the physically unable to perform list.

Gurode got a chance to reclaim the job once he was healthy, moving straight to the first team and starting the second preseason game. But the Cowboys decided he wasn’t so much better than Costa that he was worth keeping, not when they could also save $5.5 million against the salary cap by cutting Gurode. They liked the idea of finding out what they might have in a 24-year-old instead of relying on a 32-year-old coming off knee surgery.

“We felt like it was best move for us right now,” Garrett said. “There’s nothing purposeful in saying, ‘We’ve got to get rid of all the old guys and sign all the young guys.’ That’s not what we’re thinking. We’re just trying to make our team as good as it can be right now.”

Costa likely wasn’t drafted because of his size. Even with a generous listing of 6-foot-3, 311 pounds, he’s still an inch shorter and 23 pounds lighter than Gurode.

“But if you looked at him as a football player, you liked what you saw,” Garrett said. “He is one of those guys because he is smart, because he is tough, because he is intense, because it’s important to him. You see taking advantage of opportunities as well as anybody. He grew and grew as he was the starter in camp. It was hard not to like what he did.”

Costa missed the last preseason game with a strained ligament in his right knee and won’t play Thursday night against Miami, but Garrett said he could be able to practice next week. The Cowboys are counting on him being ready for the opener Sept. 11 against the New York Jets. If not, options include undrafted rookie Kevin Kowalski, who played the entire game against Minnesota, or veterans Kyle Kosier and Montrae Holland.

Holland has been out several weeks with back and knee problems, but he returned to practice Monday. Kosier and linebacker Bradie James were held out to give them extra time to heal from injuries.

Dallas will have only one returning starter in the same place on the offensive line, left tackle Doug Free. And last year was his first year at that position. The overhaul seems drastic, but Garrett believes it’s a good thing.

“There will be challenges all over the place for them individually and collectively, and we have a long way to go and we’re going to try to take advantage of these practices leading up to (the opener), but we feel good about the direction we’re going,” Garrett said.

Free said the linemen aren’t a cohesive unit yet, but they’re trying.

“Let’s see what happens,” he said. “We’re just going to have to go with what we’ve got and make the best of it.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Andre Gurode was warned, just like everyone else on the Dallas Cowboys. Under first-year coach Jason Garrett, jobs will be won and lost based on how players perform in camp and preseason games, not by what they’ve done in the past.

Having made the Pro Bowl the last five years wasn’t enough for Gurode to keep his roster spot.

The Cowboys cut the veteran center Monday for a variety of reasons that included his age and salary, his decision to have knee surgery so late in the offseason that it sidelined him for the start of camp and by the performance by an undrafted, unproven second-year player in Gurode’s absence.

“What we’ve said right from Day 1 is it doesn’t really matter where you came from or what you’ve done in the past,” Garrett said. “We’re going to try our best as coaches and evaluators to see what you’re doing right now and see what you can do for us going forward. We try to do that individually, we try to do that collectively. We’re not in the business of trying to send a message to the rest of the team. We’re trying to make the best decision for our team.”

Still, the decision/message was clear to everyone, from veterans who may feel comfortable to rookie free agents still trying to prove themselves.

“That’s the way it should be,” veteran linebacker Keith Brooking said. “I think when you can create that environment and that message is sent throughout your team – and it’s not just a message, there are examples that run through the team – I think that’s a really good thing for everyone. That’s what pushes you, that’s what makes you better. “

The Cowboys already had cut several other high-priced veterans, including linemen Marc Colombo and Leonard Davis. By adding Gurode to the list, Tony Romo’s blockers will include three inexperienced linemen: Phil Costa at center, top pick Tyron Smith at right tackle and seventh-rounder Bill Nagy at left guard.

Costa is the guy whose strong play pushed Gurode out the door.

A hard worker as a rookie last year, he played in four games and started once, at left guard. He became the first-team center at the start of camp because Gurode was on the physically unable to perform list.

Gurode got a chance to reclaim the job once he was healthy, moving straight to the first team and starting the second preseason game. But the Cowboys decided he wasn’t so much better than Costa that he was worth keeping, not when they could also save $5.5 million against the salary cap by cutting Gurode. They liked the idea of finding out what they might have in a 24-year-old instead of relying on a 32-year-old coming off knee surgery.

“We felt like it was best move for us right now,” Garrett said. “There’s nothing purposeful in saying, ‘We’ve got to get rid of all the old guys and sign all the young guys.’ That’s not what we’re thinking. We’re just trying to make our team as good as it can be right now.”

Costa likely wasn’t drafted because of his size. Even with a generous listing of 6-foot-3, 311 pounds, he’s still an inch shorter and 23 pounds lighter than Gurode.

“But if you looked at him as a football player, you liked what you saw,” Garrett said. “He is one of those guys because he is smart, because he is tough, because he is intense, because it’s important to him. You see taking advantage of opportunities as well as anybody. He grew and grew as he was the starter in camp. It was hard not to like what he did.”

Costa missed the last preseason game with a strained ligament in his right knee and won’t play Thursday night against Miami, but Garrett said he could be able to practice next week. The Cowboys are counting on him being ready for the opener Sept. 11 against the New York Jets. If not, options include undrafted rookie Kevin Kowalski, who played the entire game against Minnesota, or veterans Kyle Kosier and Montrae Holland.

Holland has been out several weeks with back and knee problems, but he returned to practice Monday. Kosier and linebacker Bradie James were held out to give them extra time to heal from injuries.

Dallas will have only one returning starter in the same place on the offensive line, left tackle Doug Free. And last year was his first year at that position. The overhaul seems drastic, but Garrett believes it’s a good thing.

“There will be challenges all over the place for them individually and collectively, and we have a long way to go and we’re going to try to take advantage of these practices leading up to (the opener), but we feel good about the direction we’re going,” Garrett said.

Free said the linemen aren’t a cohesive unit yet, but they’re trying.

“Let’s see what happens,” he said. “We’re just going to have to go with what we’ve got and make the best of it.”

Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode
will be cut today after five Pro Bowl seasons in nine years with
the team, the Cowboys announced on their website.

Gurode, 32, was the National Football League team’s
longest-tenured player, and a Pro Bowl selection in each of the
last five seasons. The team was unable to trade Gurode, and will
save about $5.5 million on this year’s salary cap, according to
the website.

Gurode is the third starting offensive lineman from last
season that the team has cut since the league’s lockout ended in
July, joining Marc Colombo and Leonard Davis. The Cowboys
allowed 31 sacks last year and finished 6-10, their worst
regular-season record in six seasons.

Gurode was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of
the 2002 NFL Draft. He started 122 games in nine seasons with
the team.

– Editor: Rob Gloster

To contact the reporter on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
enovywilliam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net