"Adam Jones thinks he "might be back in Dallas" next season. If he is, then the man sitting next to him during Saturday's interview on CBS likely will be required to be in Dallas at times, too.

That was Pacman's attorney.

No one thinks Pacman will return. But is it because he fought with his bodyguard and was suspended last season, or because his career incidents topped a dozen, or because of another story that will be broadcast today on ESPN?

It's because Pacman averaged just 4.5 yards on punt returns last season.

There's always a chance Jerry Jones does re-sign Pacman, since there's a chance Jerry will do almost anything. After all, Mike Shanahan is still unemployed in 2009, and Wade Phillips isn't.

So maybe Pacman knows more than he let on Saturday. Then, when he sat down for CBS, the setting came with a twist. Immediately after his interview, his former team, the Tennessee Titans, took the field. They have apparently learned to survive without anyone making it rain.

Even though the Titans lost to the Ravens, they got this right. They prefer stability and character, and the Cowboys were the contrast this weekend. They had a 2-5 record against the final eight playoff teams.

Still, as the Cowboys continue to prove, the dysfunctional make the best stories. That's why Pacman got more TV time than some in the playoffs.

He also played to the cameras. At the end of the interview Saturday, when asked if he had "an inkling that Jerry Jones will give you another shot," Pacman smiled as if he had inside information.

"Yeah, I do," Pacman said.

Somewhere the Eagles and Giants laughed, as did a few strip-club owners in Dallas.

Jerry might have groaned, assuming he finally believes there is such a thing as bad publicity. After all, the Cowboys made the decision to release Pacman shortly after being asked for comment by ESPN for the network's "Outside the Lines" program that will run today.

The storyline: Three Atlanta-area men allege Pacman arranged for someone to shoot at them two months after he was suspended by Roger Goodell in 2007.

Pacman initially responded to this report by announcing, "It will be a lawsuit in a week against ESPN." Upon further counsel, there was Pacman on the CBS pregame show Saturday, with his attorney, smiling and trying to be nice.

Pacman denied the story, and he talked about his alcohol problem and how he was going to AA. "There's a lot of remorse in me, man," he said, and this was the Pacman who Jerry thought deserved a fourth or fifth chance.

It wasn't an awful gamble. Because of the midseason suspension, the Cowboys didn't lose much in the trade. Furthermore, cutting Pacman now will do nothing to the salary cap.

So Jerry took a chance, and at times Pacman could be engaging and sincere with the Dallas media. If Deion Sanders stayed involved, could Pacman change?"