Coincidence? Absolutely not.

Jerry Jones finally understands what the rest of us have known all along - chemistry matters.

Why it took him so long to figure that out is beyond me. These moves had to be made.

Releasing Pacman and not re-signing Johnson, among the NFL's most overrated players, didn't cause Jerry any consternation. He knew it had to be done.

No way Jerry wanted to cut T.O.

That's because Jerry has always been fascinated by talented and troubled players who can help him market his team and win games. Why do you think guys like Alonzo Spellman, Dimitrius Underwood and other troubled players have played with the Cowboys during Jerry's tenure as owner?

T.O. could still help the Cowboys win, even though he has started to decline. But his emotional baggage - real and perceived - dragged this team down.

All you need to know about the owner's affection for T.O. is that he and Stephen Jones delivered the news personally in Miami.

Jerry has genuine feelings for T.O, and it hurt him to release the petulant receiver. But leaders must make tough decisions.

Perhaps Jones' disappointment involving T.O.'s inevitable release is why he became so indignant a few weeks ago, when asked about the receiver's future with the team.

"If I gave you the answer that you want to hear, you'd already have it," he said to reporters. "And the fact that you don't should tell you something."

What Jerry never said was T.O. would be on the roster in 2009.

My suspicion, since the owner wasn't taking questions Thursday, is that Jerry looked high and low for someone - anyone - in favor of keeping T.O.

At some point since the end of the season, I believe he spoke directly or indirectly with Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Jason Garrett and Phillips among others and asked whether they wanted T.O. on this team.

I believe in their own way, each person told him no just like everyone else with whom he broached the subject.

So Jerry finally did what he had to do.

"In the aftermath of the season, we talked about change. Some of what is changing involves the process, and some of it involves people," Jones said in a statement. "This is a decision that was made based upon consideration for an entire team.

"We will move on now with a new team - a new attitude - and into a new stadium. The evaluation process and the prospect for change will continue at every level of the organization."

Releasing T.O. proves Jerry has finally admitted team chemistry matters, though he scoffed at the notion a few weeks ago as if it were the silliest thing he'd ever heard.

We shouldn't have been surprised since he mentioned during the season that he didn't believe teams were ever affected by off-the-field issues.

You couldn't possibly make this stuff up.

Well, chemistry does matter. Firing those three guys proves it.

Team chemistry is one of the hardest things to describe because it encompasses so many different things.

See, it's about more than guys playing dominoes, or tonk, or bowling. It's about more than the defensive players going to dinner every Thursday night.

It's about willingly making sacrifices for the team and respecting your teammates enough that you don't want to let them down under any circumstances.

Teams comprised of players willing to play for one another don't always win, but they don't lay down and get beat, 44-6, by an NFC East rival in a game that determines their playoff fate.

That's what the Cowboys did. That's why change has been thrust upon Jerry.

And that's why T.O. is unemployed.

More Cowboys coverage

-Less than a year after signing a four-year contract extension, Terrell Owens is released. 1A

-Reaction from around the league, and a look back on T.O.'s time in Dallas. 6-7C

-At 36, Owens' best seasons are probably behind him. Rick Gosselin's column, 7C

-The Cowboys have options for finding a replacement. David Moore's column, 7C

-Roy Williams says there's no added pressure in being the Cowboys' No. 1 receiver. 8C

-One-time defensive standout Roy L. Williams' release is hardly noticed. 9C

GET ANSWERS to your questions about the Cowboys' release of Terrell Owens in a live chat with staff writer Calvin Watkins at 11:30 a.m. today. dallasnews.com/sports

WATCH our staff writers as they talk about the Cowboys' future without Owens. dallasnews.com/sports