👋 Good morning! - So the only way to pay George Pickens was sacrificing Micah Parsons? 🤔 Come on. There are always ways to make it work, the cap is flexible if you want it to be. Dallas could’ve had both. - Ali Jawad

The Cowboys already knew how the 2025 season would be judged, and a 7-9-1 finish only made the microscope tighter.

So when Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones, and Brian Schottenheimer sat down Wednesday for the end-of-season presser, it wasn’t a funeral… but it also wasn’t some “we’re close” victory lap, either.

Almost every question circled the same idea: what’s the actual plan now, from the defensive coordinator reset to what George Pickens’ future even looks like, to whether Tyler Smith is really staying put.

The clearest takeaway was the one nobody in Dallas loves hearing: the Micah Parsons trade wasn’t just football, it was math. Jerry flat-out linked the decision to financial flexibility and basically said Pickens’ long-term future doesn’t even enter the conversation without that move.

And when the “how bad do you want me?” negotiation optics came up, Jones didn’t bite. No grand gestures, no contract scoreboard-watching, no public courting, just a “stop reading tea leaves” vibe and a reminder that the Cowboys believe they’re building something “friendly” to Pickens staying.

Meanwhile, Tyler Smith got labeled a guard… with a giant asterisk. Schottenheimer made it sound like guard is the default, but if the best lineup requires a shuffle, they’re not locking anything behind glass.

And then came the part that tells you how this offseason will be sold: urgency, ambition, and a promise to do it differently, again. Jerry openly said he wants to retire as the owner with the most Super Bowls, then literally stopped himself mid-thought like he almost went too far. Stephen cleaned it up with a laugh, but the message landed: the pressure is on, and they know it.

There were a couple real nuggets mixed in, like the Cowboys wanting Javonte Williams back on a multi-year deal after a career year, but the biggest breadcrumbs were about defense.

Schottenheimer framed the coordinator search as a “teacher” hunt, not a scheme obsession, and hammered takeaways like it should be a building-wide embarrassment. Jerry even hinted the usual Dallas process won’t cut it this time.

January always sounds good in Frisco, the tell will be whether those words turn into actual moves.

The Stars finally found a pulse in D.C., snapping their season-long six-game winless skid with a 3-1 win over the Capitals on Wednesday night, and locking in their first victory of the 2026 calendar year.

Dallas didn’t just beat Washington, they swept the season series, with goals coming shorthanded, at 4-on-4, and at 5-on-5 before Roope Hintz put it away late.

Alex Ovechkin ruined Casey DeSmith’s shutout bid in the third for career goal No. 915, but the Stars still walked out of Capital One Arena with the slump officially dead.

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Ali Jawad
Dallas Cowboys ​Content Creator/Newsletter Writer
[email protected]