3 New Year's resolutions that will serve the Cowboys well in 2026

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The Dallas Cowboys have one more game before they can officially turn the page to next year, but that shouldn't stop them from looking forward to 2026. This season was a lost as early as the offseason, with things never quite coming together.

If the Cowboys want to be better moving forward, they'll need to change the way they do business. Jerry Jones and the organization should adhere to these New Year's resolutions if they want to have better results in 2026.

Let Brian Schottenheimer hire the defensive coordinator

The Cowboys are a franchise that sometimes does things backwards, and in 2025 it included the front office ensuring their first-time head coach hired their preferred defensive coordinator in Matt Eberflus. It didn't work out; Eberflus has fielded one of the worst defensive units in the league, a group that has been lost against the pass and continued their struggles against the run.

Thankfully, Jerry Jones has hinted at moving on from his handpicked defensive coach.

Eberflus' failures should be a lesson for Jones to allow Schottenheimer to make his own hire at DC. It's time for Dallas' front office to empower their chosen head coach to make the decision on who he wants to coach the defense instead of being handed a DC he doesn't covet. It might mean a fourth defensive coach in as many years, but the Cowboys can't have another season where one side of the ball isn't complementing the other.

The Cowboys allowed Schottenheimer to choose his offensive coaches and that turned out well that on that side of the ball. Trust your coach to make the same decision with the DC.

The organization has gone down this road before when hiring their staff and it's a practice that needs to end in 2026.

Re-sign key free agents early

The Cowboys will have a few free agents they should want to keep, and unlike what they've done in the past, they need to re-sign them quickly. Waiting only allows the price to go up, and if their coveted players do hit free agency, it usually spells trouble for the team.

Last year the Cowboys botched the extension for pass rusher Micah Parsons, which came on the heels of misplaying deals for quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.

This offseason, the Cowboys have a select group of free agents they need to sign early, including with WR George Pickens and running back Javonte Williams. It might be expensive to keep Pickens, but the offense was among the best in the league with two elite receivers, and the Cowboys should keep that duo intact with Prescott still in his prime.

Pickens will cost a pretty penny, but the Cowboys should pay the price and not use the franchise tag before free agency opens.

Williams found his rhythm in Dallas and fulfilled the promise he showed when coming out of college. The veteran RB displayed the skills that made him a second-round pick and Williams proved that he is well past the knee injury form a few years ago. Williams surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his career, and he'll still be in his prime at 26 years old when the new campaign begins.

He won't cost as much as Pickens, but Williams should be a priority re-signing the Cowboys need to get done quickly.

Be aggressive in free agency

For the past 13 offseasons, the Cowboys have shopped in the bargain bin during free agency. While other teams have invested in quality from the open market, the Joneses prefer to deal in quantity. Instead of adding a few good players at a higher cost, the Cowboys have brought in more role players that don't cost as much to fill their roster holes.

Instead of being aggressive early in free agency, the Cowboys prefer to wait until the second and third waves to grab players off the open market. Unfortunately, that's a time when most of the top talent is gone.

It's a fruitless strategy that hasn't paid off. Nothing has changed the organizations' fortunes since they decided to be cheap in free agency, so it's time to switch their strategy.

The Cowboys are up against the salary cap right now, but they can easily maneuver to gain the cap space they need to be aggressive in March. That magical $6 million a year number the team refuses to go over should be put to pasture this offseason. If the Cowboys want to contend for a Super Bowl, they'll need to alter how they approach free agency.

As the old saying goes, nothing changes if nothing changes. These resolutions can help the Cowboys get over the hump.

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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: 3 New Year's resolutions that will serve the Cowboys well in 2026

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