Rod Marinelli "expressed an interest" in returning to Dallas Cowboys

Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli want to reunite, and most reporters seem to think that's just a matter of time, but Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett seems to think otherwise: he told reporters that he wants to keep Rod Marinelli in Dallas, and that Marinelli has expressed an interest in staying, according to Charean Williams.

The Bucs aren't allowed to speak to Marinelli yet, as he's still officially under contract this week. Once the contract runs out, which should be later this week, they can officially contact him for any openings.

But finding a place for Marinelli could be difficult. Lesie Frazier is under contract through 2015, according to Greg Auman, so the Bucs would have to reshuffle some of their staff to get Marinelli in a defensive coordinator role -- or offer him some defensive assistant/assistant head coach kind of job. Meanwhile, Marinelli may simply be using the well-known bond between him and Lovie Smith to finagle some extra cash out of Jerry Jones and company.

Nothing's certain at this point, but I'd still put some good money on Marinelli coming to Tampa in the end.