IRVING, Texas - When you tune into Sunday's game against the Chiefs, be prepared to mutter this phrase often:

"Hey, I know that guy."

Because if it's a shot of the Kansas City sidelines, there's a good chance you do.

More than just first-year head coach Todd Haley, who served as the Cowboys' passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach in his three years (2004-06) under Bill Parcells, but the Chiefs also have five other coaches on the staff that spent some time here in Dallas.

Assistant head coach Maurice Carthon spent two years under Parcells as the offensive coordinator and running backs coach. Carthon has taken on more of the offensive coordinator duties now after the Chiefs fired Chan Gailey back in August. That would've been yet another former Cowboys' coach on the staff but Kansas City decided to part ways with Gailey, and now both Haley and Carthon are running the offense.

Other former Chiefs coaches with Cowboys' ties include defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, who worked with Haley last year in Arizona. Pendergast held various roles with the Cowboys during a seven-year span from 1996-2002, including defensive backs coach during his final two years.

Kansas City's linebackers coach is Gary Gibbs, who held the same title here in Dallas for four years from 2002-06 - one of the few coaches Parcells retained when he took over in 2003.

The coach with the longest tenure in Dallas is special teams coach Steve Hoffman, who served as the Cowboys' kicking coach for 16 seasons, beginning in 1989 through 2004. Hoffman has worked as the kicking coach, quality control and assistant special teams coach for many stops, but finally got his first gig as a full-time special teams coach.

And if that's not enough, the Chiefs' wide receivers coach is Dedric Ward, a longtime veteran receiver who played eight years in the NFL, including his final season with the Cowboys in 2004.

The Chiefs have a few former players as well, including wide receiver Terrance Copper and tight end Sean Ryan. Running back Jackie Battle went to training camp with the Cowboys in 2007.

The only Cowboys player with Kansas City ties is defensive tackle Junior Siavii.

Romo Addresses Fourth Down

While he still hasn't talked to Dallas/Fort Worth reporters since the Broncos game, Tony Romo did conduct his weekly conference call with opposing media. While he was asked several questions about the Chiefs and former assistant coach Todd Haley, Romo was finally asked about the fourth-down play in Denver. One reporter asked him to set the record straight about the confusion:

"I think it already was set straight. I think someone took something and ran with it. After the play, you end up looking over… it was fourth down, everyone knew it was fourth down. We called it in the huddle - it was our fourth down play.

"But as you're walking off, the guy is moving the chain and the down marker - and the guy is moving the chain back because Denver has the ball. So he goes to 3, and I thought maybe the refs made a mistake for a second. You ever remember the Nebraska game? Five downs?

"I just thought maybe the refs had screwed up and they had that 3 on there the whole time. But believe me, if I would've thought we had an extra down, I would've been going crazy over there."

Romo is expected to talk reporters on Thursday or Friday but it's likely he'll be looking to put this confusion to rest.

Ready To Settle

Newly-signed cornerback Cletis Gordon has had a whirlwind of a month. But after signing with the Cowboys on Tuesday, he's hoping he can finally settle down a bit.

Gordon, who spent three years with the Chargers, including one year under Wade Phillips, was released by San Diego just before the start of the season. Since then, he's signed with both Houston and Detroit, but never stayed longer than three days with either team.

He's also had tryouts for both Seattle and Cleveland in the last two weeks but didn't sign with either.

"It's been pretty frustrating," Gordon said. "But I'm glad to be here in Dallas. This is the place I've always wanted to play. I grew up loving the Cowboys, and I lived here for a little while in (nearby) Carrollton. So I'm just hoping things work out here."

While the Cowboys needed more help at safety with Gerald Sensabaugh out, Phillips said the opportunity to add another athletic cornerback played a factor.

"I'm familiar with Cletis, I think he's a good athlete and will be able to help us at cornerback," Phillips said. "You can't ever have too many of those."

The Cowboys will use Alan Ball as their third safety this week, behind starters Ken Hamlin and Pat Watkins, who replaces Sensabaugh.