Jerry Jones Reflects On Jimmy Johnson In Cowboys' 'Material Change'

This offseason has been different for the Dallas Cowboys for a variety of reasons, most notably in how the franchise has gone about its business.

A host of new coaches, new players, and even getting contract situations done in a quiet and efficient manner.

Now, as we gear up for training camp in Oxnard, the hope and excitement that is surrounding the Cowboys, after a 7-9-1 season, is noteworthy.

That is largely due to free-agent additions, Christian Parker as the new defensive coordinator, and the draft class highlighted by Caleb Downs.

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But is owner Jerry Jones confident that the team, as it is currently constructed, can make something of itself in 2026?

"Maybe confidence is not the word I might use,” Jerry said. “What I've seen in the offseason gives us a chance, and we have the goods, so to speak, to really change up parts of the team. Add nine of 11 coaches on defense, that's a material change and the system that's going to go with it.

"So, what I'm excited about is that I really believe that we can do something."

But as we know, when you have that much change both player and coaching-wise, it can take time for it to get off the ground.

And with an offense that is one of the best in football, there isn't a long runway for Parker to get this defense up and running to the point where it is a competent unit.

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However, in what was a nice little bit of truth from Jerry, he's well aware that when you have this amount of change in an offseason, it can take time to get it rolling.

“The last time there were this many changes of any team that I've been involved in where we changed the system, changed out all the players and plus changed out the coaches was the first year with Jimmy Johnson and we won one football game," Jerry added.

"So, we know that changing out and starting new can obviously create quite a challenge. But I like what we've got to work with. I, of course, have a lot of confidence in our head coach, Schotty, and have a lot of confidence in the coaches that he's involved.”

The changes have been substantial, and they needed to be after last season's debacle, but now, as training camp is set to begin, we're about to see what type of impact those can have on this Cowboys team.

Granted, it won't happen overnight, and Jerry is well aware of that, but the "material change" the Cowboys have made this offseason has the billionaire owner thinking that maybe in 2026, his team finally has a chance.