Charles Haley 2.0? Can Cowboys 'Spell Super Bowl' With Von Miller Signing?

FRISCO - What does Von Miller circa 2026 have in common with Charles Haley circa 1992?

A Hall-of-Fame future, for sure.

A way to help the Dallas Cowboys "spell 'Super Bowl''?

That would be the idea, sure.

On August 26, 1992, owner Jerry Jones' Cowboys engineered a bold and high-risk move, trading for controversial pass-rusher Charles Haley.

Haley was still at the top of his game, but had worn out his welcome in San Francisco with a series of actions that strongly suggested behavioral problems.

It worked, as the Cowboys would go onto win three titles in four years, with Jerry insisting that Haley was the missing link, and that Dallas "couldn't have spelled 'Super Bowl'' without him.

Fast-forward to August 16, 2026, and once again needing a hot-shot pass-rusher, Jerry's Cowboys did it again, signing Von Miller.

Differences? Lots of 'em.

Haley arrived here at age 28, in the prime of his career.

Miller arrives here at age 37, insisting that his "flame'' is not yet out.

So the age is different, the money is different (Miller gets just a one-year deal and $5.5 million) and the expectations are different, as Haley was both a disruptor of opposing offenses and a locker-room disruptor.

Miller? 

“I am the best teammate in the history of the National Football League. When it comes to being a great teammate, I just know how to do it,” Miller said recently. “Every team that I’ve been on, there’s not a guy in that locker room who would say anything bad about me.”

The Cowboys’ 2025 season was ruined by sporting the NFL’s worst defense. Jones responded to that disaster by ...

-Changing coordinators (Matt Eberflus being replaced by Christian Parker, who as it happens worked with Miller when they were with the Broncos).

-Adding two first-round draft choices (Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence) to the defense.

-Signing a perennial Pro Bowler to a massive long-term contract (Quinnen Williams).

-Trading for another Packers vet front-seven standout (Kenny Clark being joined by Rashan Gary).

-Signing two starting defensive backs in free agency (Jalen Thompson and Cobie Durant).

Now they’re bringing in Miller (on a low-risk, one-year contract), who is already assured a place in Canton after a career highlighted by being named Defensive Player of the Year, making eight Pro Bowls, winning two Super Bowls and one Super Bowl MVP.

Can he play in one more Super Bowl on what is likely the DFW native's last dance in the NFL?

First, of course, Dallas - with a 2-5 record in the playoffs during the decade-long Dak Prescott era - needs to win a postseason game or two.

Along the way, Miller as a situational pass-rusher (maybe playing 36 percent of the time?) figures to help ...

A lot, as far as he's concerned.

“I can still walk in at 8-10 sacks now. That’s just walking in,” Miller said. “I’m going to have opportunities to do it.”

Last season with the Washington Commanders he had nine sacks, which would have led the Cowboys.

Miller, who grew up a Cowboys fan in DeSoto and in college at Texas A&M, will immediately serve a locker-room leader and a veteran voice. He’s three years older than Parker.

The Cowboys have often tried this sort of acquisition in the years bridging Haley's time to Miller Time. ... with mixed results. But none of those guys were able to achieve what Haley did (34 sacks over five seasons in Dallas while finishing as the only player with five Super Bowl rings, along with 100.5 sacks, five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro nods) or what Miller has (he's the NFL's leading active sack master at 138.5, ninth in NFL history, tied with Cowboys pal DeMarcus Ware).

And I will suggest they should try again, even in the wake of this move, because trading for the Raiders' Maxx Crosby would be almost infinitely grander than even this signing.

But for now? If passion matters? 

“I’ve always had blue in my heart since I was a little boy, I always paid attention to the Dallas Cowboys,” he said. “To be back home … it’s a dream within a dream.”