One of the questions, not just from our show but from others in the media as well, has been whether Jerry Jones and his son and right-hand man, Stephen Jones, understand the exasperation that has built up with Cowboys fans. The crowds here in Oxnard, at least for most of the weekday practices we saw, are slightly smaller than in years past. And a big theme on social media, for whatever that might be worth, has been one of frustration from having three straight 12–5 seasons and only one playoff win to show for it.
The stunning ass-kick of a loss to Green Bay, at home, no less, in the wild card round last year when the Cowboys were the No. 2 seed in the NFC is the worst loss they’ve ever suffered in my lifetime. To have a Packers team come in as a No. 7 seed, with a young quarterback making his first-ever playoff start, and lose like that was as bad as a loss can get. It was 27–7 at halftime. Inexcusable. Pathetic.
Stephen Jones agrees, at least with the frustration part, as he told me and my co-host Donovan Lewis during our show last week.
“We feel the same way, very frustrating," he said. "No one has a good taste in their mouth when you have that kind of ending to what was shaping up to be a really good season. We understand our fans are gonna be frustrated and angry until we do solve that puzzle.”
The star QB was less diplomatic. Dak Prescott told fans during an interview last week from Oxnard we just need to “move on.” That's easier said than done.
It’s 2024 now, and there's much uncertainty as the franchise moves into this season. The entire coaching staff is in the final year of their deals with the team. Prescott and star receiver CeeDee Lamb, who is holding out and has yet to arrive in Oxnard as of this writing, both need contract extensions. All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons is eligible for an extension that will likely come next offseason. Those three could collectively cost the Cowboys as much as $130 million, which would easily be the most any NFL team is paying a trio of talents.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy speaks to the media from training camp. He's in the last year of his contract.
Matt McClearin
But the questions and concerns of camp go beyond the biggest names. There are two presumed new starters, both rookies, on the offensive line. Cornerback Trevon Diggs is back, but how ready will he be early in the season coming off a torn ACL last year? And on the first weekend of camp practices, one of the vital pieces of the Cowboys pass rush, Sam Williams, tore his ACL and is out for the year.
But, hey, Zeke Elliott has returned at running back, and the team really likes its young guys.
Does this year's squad have what it takes to go 12–5 again? Who knows? It’s hard to take much away from camp other than 2024 first-round draft pick Tyler Guyton looks like the real deal at left tackle and Pro Bowl kick returner KaVontae Turpin is primed to take full advantage of the NFL’s new kickoff rules. Make no mistake about it, the Cowboys as a franchise are in a really weird spot.
The lack of fan belief that they’ll accomplish anything this season is at an all-time high. They could go 12–5 again, but so what? The definition of success for this team comes down to the playoffs, where they have failed to get past the divisional round every year since the 1995 season.
Guess who else in the NFC is in that same boat? Washington. That’s who they’re paired with now after the usually lowly Detroit Lions advanced to the NFC title game last year.
I asked Stephen Jones what he would say to a Cowboys fan under 35 who either has no real memory of the Super Bowls of the '90s or simply was not alive at that time.
“The message is 'Sit in here and hang in here with us,'" he told me. "We’ve got a great group of players. It’s a very entertaining team to watch that has had success. I think we’ve won as much if not more games in the regular season than anybody. We’ve just gotta go out there and execute and win a playoff game when the time comes. And I would tell a young person, 'When that does happen, there’s nothing like it.'”
Team owner and General Manager Jerry Jones also mentioned the regular season success, which unfortunately doesn’t do much in terms of assuaging the fear of failure in the postseason that many of us have adopted with this team.
The Cowboys have a difficult schedule to start the season, playing four teams that made the playoffs last year in their first six games: at Cleveland, Baltimore, at Pittsburgh and Detroit. Then, coming out of their bye in Week 7, they have a road trip to play the San Francisco 49ers, the same team that annihilated them in the regular season last year.
The crazy thing is, even if they go 6–0 and start strong, another big road loss to the 49ers, a team most people consider the best in the NFC, would likely have many fans thinking nothing has really changed. Even if the Cowboys somehow put together a better regular season in 2024 than in 2023, there will still be hesitancy to believe Dallas can actually accomplish something in the playoffs. Until they do, that is.
Cowboys kick returner KaVonte Turpin (left) is one of the players set to enjoy some rule changes on NFL kickoffs. Here, he is interviewed by Matt McClearin on 1310 The Ticket.
Matt McClearin
Stephen Jones is aware of that mentality.
“We know what our fans and certainly the media is gonna be saying; well, let’s just see if we were fortunate enough to go out there and win 12 games again," he told us. "They’re still gonna have the wait-and-see approach of let’s see how we do in the playoffs.”
Both Jerry and Stephen Jones know what’s on the line this year, as evidenced by their not giving head coach Mike McCarthy and his staff a contract extension despite the team being 36–15 over the last three seasons. There is a point – I believe it’s the NFC Championship Game – that this franchise must attain this season for the staff to return in 2025.
Still, the frustration level is high, and there has to be some concern among the Jones clan that another major playoff letdown could turn a frustrated fanbase into an apathetic one, which is not where this franchise wants to go. As Stephen Jones told us, “We want our fans to care. The last thing you want is apathy. You want your fans to care and be involved in it.”
If the Cowboys fail to at least reach the conference title game this season, that will make 29 straight seasons without getting past the divisional round. How much longer do fans hold on?
That’s a question the Cowboys don’t want to have to answer. But heading into a season with so much on the line contractually, it seems as if Jerry Jones is hoping the pressure he's placed on the staff and his quarterback will result in his never having to.
