Parcells doesn't view Owens signing as a gamble

IRVING, Texas -- Bill Parcells says he's happy to have Terrell Owens on the Dallas Cowboys.

It just took him 48 days to say so.

"I say, `I support it,' and that's the way we go," Parcells said Friday. "I don't view it as a gamble. It's in my best interest that he's successful. And it's in his best interest that he's successful. ...

"I'm not approaching this with the idea it's going to be adversarial or I'm going to be mandating every little thing this player does."

Parcells loves keeping a low profile in the offseason, but he took it to an extreme this year considering the high-profile move of signing Owens, the receiver whose spectacular plays tend to be overshadowed by personality conflicts with teammates and coaches.

When Parcells didn't talk last weekend after the first day of the draft -- something he did the previous three years -- speculation increased that he didn't agree with the move.

Finally, on Friday afternoon, following the start of a rookie minicamp, Parcells walked into his normal news conference setting and was greeted by almost as many cameras as the day he was hired. He sat down, smiled and said, "Well, let me see what you want to talk about here."

His response to the first question wasn't exactly seven weeks in the making.

"He's a good, productive player, has been for a long time," Parcells said. "I've seen quite a bit of him. I think he can help us."

First, Owens will have to adjust to a new offense, one in which "he's not going to catch 100 balls."

"He's been in the league for quite a while so I don't worry about him making that adjustment," Parcells said. "But it is going to be different."

Parcells spoke for 50 minutes, the first 26 strictly about Owens. He answered every question -- calmly, too.

Two things he was adamant about: He's not cutting Owens any slack by letting him do most of his offseason conditioning work away from team headquarters; and the decision to sign Owens and all other personnel moves are made by the trio of himself, team owner Jerry Jones and scouting director Jeff Ireland.