DALLAS — With Super Bowl LVI in the books, the offseason is here for the Dallas Cowboys and the quest to get over the hump starts anew. It’s not yet officially a new league year – that starts on March 16 – but everyone except the celebratory champion Los Angeles Rams has already turned their eyes towards what’s next.
In truth, the Cowboys have likely been itching to move forward. It has been almost a month since Dallas was eliminated in the wild-card round and the fanbase has already put themselves through some of the stages of grief, including denial and anger. Another stage – acceptance – appears a little harder to come by these days. That comes from 26 years of futility.
While fans of the team aren’t so eager to move on, the organization wanted everyone to know that they are. The Cowboys waited only moments until after the final whistle of the Super Bowl to put out a social media post to announce that they’re ready to put in the work in 2022, stoking the fire in the hearts of their followers.
Just which way that “fire” blows depends on the wind.
It’s easy to see the video as the same tired rhetoric that the franchise has been about over the last quarter century. Jumping into the space as another team celebrates something that they haven’t come close to in a generation feels like a ploy to hold interest, prop up the team, and prove that the Cowboys are trying to win – but without any real substance.
Perhaps the video’s sentiment was to say that there is no better way to put last year behind them than to focus on an exciting 2022 season ahead. The problem is, the Cowboys haven’t enjoyed much success since the turn of the century, so the whole endeavor rings hollow.
Even worse, propping up next year’s team when Executive Vice President Stephen Jones has said that Dallas will have financial restraints in building the roster calls into question the message. Jones has already provided the built-in excuse for when Dallas isn’t able to re-sign their own priorities, nor be players for difference-making free agents.
For fans who have watched the Cowboys proclaim that “next year is our year” for far too long, cool social media videos don’t mean anything, other than the franchise likes it when eyes are on them. Dallas hasn’t had back-to-back winning seasons since 2006-07, has won just three playoff games in 15 years, and hasn’t been to an NFC championship game in 26 years, so forgive the diehards for being cynical about any ornate optimism put forth in February.
Ultimately, the video felt like the Cowboys were trying to make their presence felt when the league was celebrating something that didn’t involve them. After all, it’s been awhile since they’ve been relevant on Super Bowl Sunday.
The irony is that the more things change with the Cowboys, the more they stay the same. By going 12-5 and winning the NFC East, Dallas flipped their fortunes from the season prior, making it the perfect time to push the narrative that next season will be the one that puts them over the top.
The fact is, there is no evidence that "next year" is going to be any better. The Cowboys have missed the playoffs the following season in each of the last five times that they’re won the division.
The Cowboys under the Joneses will always be positive and showy. Optimism and ostentatiousness is their brand. But savvy fans know all too well to be very skeptical when it comes to the intent of the message. The changing of fortunes in Dallas will be believable when it actually happens, not because of a viral social media post.
No one is buying what the Cowboys are selling, but the video sure looked cool.
Do you feel good about the Cowboys’ chances in 2022? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.