What in the hell are the Dallas Cowboys doing?

This has been a strange offseason in Big D. But those who've had a front-row seat in Jerry's World know it's no coincidence the NFCCG-less streak is at 28 years. ("It doesn’t ever really change.")

Getty Images

The uproar doesn’t make sense to those who’ve sat at the table. A team that’s won 12 games three seasons in a row, a team led by an 81-year-old owner who’s never shied away from a camera lens has been sitting on its hands all offseason.

Other contenders extend their core stars. Good teams typically choose to keep good players, and timing’s everything in today’s NFL. Being proactive frees up money in the present to sign pieces capable of getting you over the hump.

Yet here’s Dak Prescott entering the final year of his deal. And CeeDee Lamb entering the final year of his rookie contract. And Micah Parsons with two years left on his rookie deal. The Cowboys easily could’ve gotten ahead of the always-soaring quarterback market by locking up Prescott and structuring his deal in a way that made them an active player in free agency. Instead, their status quo is different. The personnel department under Will McClay does a bang-up job of identifying and drafting talent. That talent plays its way into richer contracts. Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones then bungle the next step.

Dallas doesn’t know who to pay, when to pay them and — despite the rhetoric — does not function as an all-in contender.

Twenty-eight years have passed since the Cowboys have even appeared in a conference championship game. Maybe everyone else is confused. Not those who’ve seen how the Cowboys function firsthand.

This is a perfect time to check back in with those on staff who helped explain Jerry’s World in our 2021 three-part series. Problems outlined then have only lingered, and it’s a shame. Prime opportunities at the Super Bowl fade away.

“It is crazy what’s going on,” one former Cowboys personnel says, “and it doesn’t ever really change.”