Dallas Cowboys’ New Year’s Resolutions: Key Goals for a Stronger 2025

It’s that time of year when we all look within to take inventory of some items that we want to change or work on in 2025. We call these “New Year’s resolutions,” which is defined simply as a promise to do something different in the New Year.

The most popular resolution each year is to lose weight or exercise more. You might want to save more money or spend more time with family and friends. Perhaps you have a more specific goal, like running a marathon or climbing Mt. Everest.

But what about the Dallas Cowboys, who will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020? After three consecutive 12-5 seasons, this is a team that will fail to crack 10 wins. It’s fair to suggest some changes are in order for America’s Team.

So, with that in mind, here are my New Year’s resolutions for 2025 for the Dallas Cowboys.

Decide What To Do With Micah Parsons

This season, which, mercifully, is about to come to an end, we watched the Cowboys wait until the last second to sign Dak Prescott and deal with an extended holdout from CeeDee Lamb. They made it known going into the offseason that those deals were top priorities and yet they waited and waited. And waited.

It cost them big-time. Instead of getting those deals done early in the offseason when they could have had cap space to sign (insert literally any name of note here), they waited until after the free-agency period had basically come and gone to make these deals. Micah Parsons is going into the final year of his rookie contract and, as of now, is due to make a fully guaranteed $24 million next year.

A multi-year extension would lower that number. If they do indeed want to extend Micah, then do it quickly. This doesn’t have to be difficult.

Go Get a Running Back

This can be done in the draft or via free agency, but this team needs a true RB1. Rico Dowdle, who will be a free agent, has been fine, but you’re going to need something more, even if he’s re-signed. Dallas needs someone who can create opportunities for himself and explode into space.

Dowdle has shown the ability to explode when space is there, but not necessarily to generate some of it himself. This year’s draft class is considered to be very deep at running; some believe that it might be the deepest position. Ashton Jeanty will be there when the Cowboys pick in the first round, but they’ll also be able to easily secure a talented back in the third round if they choose to wait.

Get Dak Prescott Another Weapon

The Cowboys made the choice to invest heavily in their quarterback and their top wide receiver. If you’re making those types of investments, then you need to continue to invest and find a true WR2. The answer is not Jalen Tolbert. It’s not trading a fourth-round pick for Johnathan Mingo.

I have zero problem taking a WR in the first round of the draft. Bringing in a weapon, someone who can run good routes and separate themselves, will help Dak and help the investment the team has made in the QB position. There will be a slew of names on the free-agent market, including Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen, Chris Godwin and Tee Higgins.

Sign Someone From Another Team

It’s OK! Teams that win do this every offseason in smart ways and it pays off. Shocking, I know. The Eagles signed Saquon Barkley, who has made history this year. Washington signed multiple former Cowboys to help them secure a playoff berth this season. Remember, the Baltimore Ravens signed Derrick Henry, and they haven’t regretted it for a second.

The ridiculous idea that Dallas can’t afford to pay free agents is a false narrative. By restructuring the contracts of both Prescott and Lamb, they can create $56 million in cap space. So, do that and use it. Identify key targets, whether it’s a wide receiver or a running back or an offensive lineman. Then go get the guy.

Re-sign Osa Odighizuwa and Chauncey Golston

The Cowboys live and die with the draft-and-develop concept. You don’t always have to let your own talent go somewhere else when you think they’ve earned more than you want to pay them. Odighizuwa has shown he can be a force in the middle of a defensive line that desperately needs help. He’s going to get a nice offer on the free-agent market, but the Cowboys should make it a priority to bring him back. Both he and Golston were third-round picks in 2021. You drafted them, you developed them, now keep them around.

Hire a Young, Innovative Head Coach

This is the resolution that will be the most difficult for the Cowboys to pull off. This is the “run a marathon” resolution when they haven’t even gotten on a treadmill since high school.

Mike McCarthy’s contract runs out after the season, so they don’t have to fire him. He’s been a very good coach for the bulk of his five years here, but the reality is this: he has one playoff win in five seasons. That’s not good enough.

This season has been a disaster of epic injury and front-office miscues that set the Cowboys up for failure, but that doesn’t excuse the lack of any postseason success. The reason this one will be so hard for them to achieve is that Jerry Jones isn’t going to let a first-time head coach have the control they’d want.

Ben Johnson in Detroit, Bobby Slowik in Houston and Liam Coen in Tampa Bay are the hot names of young guys currently running effective offenses that I’d love to see the Cowboys consider. But would any of those guys look at Dallas as a premier destination knowing all the hoopla that comes with it — including an overbearing owner who is going to gather the media postgame at the same time you do?

Install Curtains at AT&T Stadium To Block Out the …

I’m kidding! New Year’s resolutions have to be somewhat realistic, but there are some things with this franchise that will never change. The pure stubbornness of running an organization the same way for 29 seasons without a Super Bowl title or conference title game appearance to show for it proves to us that some of it we just have to accept. It truly is what it is. Jones is the general manager, and he’s not going to change that. Jones owns the team, and that’s not going to change.

So maybe this last resolution should be for us fans: Let’s stop saying we’re not going to watch the games or attend the games or buy merchandise. Let’s stop saying “I wish Jerry would hire a GM” or “I wish Jerry would sell the team” because that is probably not going to happen if we’re all being honest.

Let’s just accept it, maybe? Let’s take a breath and realize we love a team that is run like a family moonshine operation during Prohibition where they’re always trying to stay one step ahead of the cops and zipping around making moves like crazy people who think they’re the smartest guys in existence. I mean, what the hell else are we going to do?