Cowboys name Garrett coach

About 10 minutes into his tenure as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jason Garrett had to step aside to make way for team owner Jerry Jones.

Garrett was asked how much authority he would have over choosing his coaching staff, and Jones wanted to be the one to answer. As Garrett backed away from the microphone and Jones took over, it seemed like business as usual for the Cowboys.

Only, it wasn't.

"Jason will have the final say on any person that leaves the coaching staff or comes to the coaching staff," Jones said. "There won't be a player on this team that Jason does not want on the team. . . . That's the way we're going to operate."

Garrett, 44, received a four-year contract after going 5-3 in his half-season audition as interim coach. But the real key is how much Jones already trusts and respects Garrett, as indicated by the power he has granted the coach. It was forged over the 12 years he's spent with the organization as a player or coach. It comes from his dad having been a scout before he ever joined the club, and from having two of his brothers on the staff.

Hasselbeck to start

Matt Hasselbeck will start tomorrow as the Seahawks host the Saints in an NFC wild-card game. It'll be the 10th playoff start of his career - all with Seattle. And it might be his last as Hasselbeck will become a free agent at the end of the season after spending 10 years with Seattle. Against the Saints earlier this season, he threw for 366 yards, the fourth-highest total of his career. - AP