Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones’ words mean nothing these days. Too many empty promises have left the fan base jaded. Remember his proclamation about going “all in” during the 2024 off-season that amounted to much of nothing.
Now, he’s desperate to surpass New England owner Robert Kraft’s six Super Bowl trophies. Well, it won’t take long to find out whether he’s serious about making the contenders in 2026 or, once again, playing with your heart.
Understand, the Cowboys’ offseason-season is off to a good start because Jerry and executive vice president and CEO Stephen Jones allowed coach Brian Schottenheimer to be the point person on the search for a new defensive coordinator.
This should be standard operating procedure, but it hasn’t been in Dallas, where too many times Jerry’s lack of respect for the position of head coach has resulted in the front office saddling head coaches with high-profile assistant coaches they preferred.
Look no further than putting offensive coordinator Kellen Moore on Mike McCarthy’s staff or defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on Schottenheimer’s staff.
This time, Schottenheimer went through a lengthy process that wound up with 34-year-old Christian Parker being named defensive coordinator. Three other people Schottenheimer interviewed wound up getting defensive coordinator jobs with other clubs. Clearly, he was talking to the right people.
Parker had no ties to Jerry or the Cowboys, which is a positive. It’s an indication Jerry and Stephen Jones are willing to change after missing the playoffs each of the last two years.
If Jerry and Stephen are really serious about change then they must alter their approach to free agency. They have to stop shopping in the dollar bin and sign an impact free agent. Maybe, two.
Last year, the Cowboys’ most expensive free agent was defensive end Dante Fowler, who signed a one-year deal for $8 million. Defensive tackle Solomon Thomas signed a two-year deal for $8 million and running back Javonte Williams singed a one-year deal for $3 million.
It’s hard to win like that. Player acquisition is about the draft, trades and free agency. The Cowboys have essentially passed on free agency for a decade.
To improve this team and make the playoffs, that must change because the defense was abject last year, and it has too many holes to be fixed only through the draft and player improvement.
In 2025, the Cowboys’ defense ranked 30th in yards allowed (377.0), 31st in yards per play (6.1), 30th in turnovers (12), 31sr in touchdowns allowed (35) and 32nd in points (30.0).
But Dallas can use the 12th and 20th picks in the first round to get a pair of difference-makers and Jerry’s wallet to secure another one or two impact players.
Pair those players with one of the NFL’s best defensive tackle rotations – Quinn Williams, Kenny Clark, Osa Odighizuwa and Thomas – and the defense just might be serviceable enough to win some games with their offense that should be elite in 2026.
The issue, of course, is the Cowboys haven’t signed a big-money free agent since giving Brandon Carr a five-year, $50 million deal in 2012. Yes, it has been 14 years since they spent significant money in free agency.
Ridiculous.
Jerry and Stephen will talk about spending money to secure their own free agents over the years like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, Ezekiel Elliott, DaRon Bland and Terence Steele. Obviously, some of those deals worked out better than others.
But Dallas traded All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons rather than give him a lucrative long-term deal, and it wrecked the defense – and the season.
To regain the fan base’s trust and, more important, the locker room Jerry and Stephen need to make sure they give Parker whatever he needs to fix the defense.
Parker is supposed to be a super sharp guy and he’ll run a version of respected defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s defensive scheme, but it doesn’t matter how good the scheme is if the players stink.
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