In his past incarnations, there’s always been plenty of time ahead to get the job done. No more. I’ve a feeling Parcells doesn’t want to go to yet another team and start another rebuilding job. He wants to get the job done now.

He also believes the Cowboys are a team on the verge of greatness. They have some great young talent, including quarterback Tony Romo. If he’s the guy Parcells thinks he is, he’ll come back stronger next season for all the adversity he faced down the stretch this year.

I think it will take him some time to make his decision. There’s the issue of Terrell Owens’ future to thrash out with owner Jerry Jones, who has said he wants T.O. back next year. Parcells hasn’t said what he thinks of that prospect, but you have to assume he’d prefer not to deal with the game’s biggest prima donna again. Owens did score 13 touchdowns, but he also led the league in dropped passes and aggravation. Parcells likes to surround himself with his kind of guys, which means guys who put the team first, who will do anything to win, and — unless they’re Lawrence Taylor — don’t cause problems. Owens doesn’t fit that description.

On the other hand, Owens wasn’t enough of a pain to be a deal-breaker if Jones insists he stay with the team. Owens gets along well with Romo and showed himself to be an actual teammate when he spent time trying to help the quarterback deal with his agony over losing the game.

If Parcells has to deal with T.O., he will. Heck, he’s gotten along with Jones and he can certainly take two years of Owens — if it means a shot at the Super  Bowl.

Guys like Parcells don’t pour their lives into this game to finish second. And they don’t walk out when they think the prize is within their grasp, especially when they know they don’t have many chances left.

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I think Parcells is in that position; he’s so close he can taste it. One more year, he’s got to be telling himself, one more year with this group and he can take them to the Promised Land.

He’s not going anywhere else. If he’s going to win another Super Bowl, he’s going to have to do it in Dallas. I think the lure is too big for him to pass up. He’s given it four years and he’s almost there. He’ll give it one more.