NFC East Catchup: Are the Cowboys Preparing for Washington Commanders-Like Overhaul?

The Washington Commanders have gone through a major shakeup this offseason and the Dallas Cowboys could be headed that direction.

David Harrison | Jun 24, 2024

Jan 7, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) runs after a catch as Dallas Cowboys safety Malik Hooker (28) defends during the first half at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

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The Washington Commanders are in the midst of conducting a roster and coaching staff overhaul not unprecedented, but still incredibly jarring whenever any team in the NFL has such a massive shift in theology, construct, and appearance.

New general manager Adam Peters has remodeled the front office and roster while head coach Dan Quinn has taken on the task of turning the Commanders into competitors the same way he made the Dallas Cowboys defense a top five unit in the league over the past three seasons.

The trend when discussing the NFL is to look for the next team to do something deemed incredible or unique, the same way some are projecting Washington to be the Houston Texans of 2024, going worst to first and winning a division title.

Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin against the Dallas Cowboys.

To do it, the Peters, Quinn, and the plethora of new faces joining familiar ones on the Commanders roster will have to come together and unseat that same Cowboys team. A team who could become the 2025 Washington replica if they do what many think they will and oust not only head coach Mike McCarthy, but quarterback Dak Prescott along with him.

"It's the storyline of the off-season definitely for the Cowboys and frankly for a lot of the league," Landon McCool of Locked On Cowboys said during a recent appearance on the Locked On Commanders podcast. "But it's really hard to read the tea leaves on this. I mean, the Cowboys have not exactly lined up their off-season in a way that makes a lot of sense. I mean they claim that this is kind of an 'all-in', that's the phrase that (owner) Jerry Jones said. ...(and) if you look at the way that they're moving, there doesn't seem to be a lot of coherency between what their plan is because if this is truly the make-or-break season for both McCarthy and Dak Prescott, they seem to be doing it in a season in which they are also trying to clear off a bunch of dead money on their books.

"They're not trying to spend a bunch of money in free agency. They're not necessarily going out and trying to load up on more talent than they had last season. The fact that the Cowboys aren't going 'all in', I think it actually makes it harder to determine whether this means they are not giving them themselves enough rope to hang themselves, or they know that they're going to re-sign both these guys and they don't view this as a last season, a last hurrah."

It's an interesting way to look at what Dallas has or hasn't done this offseason as many outside the organization mockingly repeat the 'all-in' phrasing uttered by Jones.

On one hand the Cowboys have generated seasons many other franchises would consider successful after continuously being postseason participants and division title contenders, despite not winning a Lombardi Trophy in close to 30 years.

Washington, specifically, would love to have the problem of constantly getting to the tournament. But then again, as McCool later said, doing so has left Dallas in a sort of NFL purgatory where its never good enought o win it all but also not bad enough to land a franchise changing player at the top of the draft.

But the constant reality of being invited to the dance and never wearing the crown appears to be wearing thin on Cowboys fans, and may be doing the same to ownership.

"I think if you talked to Cowboys fans that a lot of them are ready for a fallback to mediocrity or a reset because I do think that the Cowboys have been at this echelon of teams that have been good but not great," McCool said. "And I think (they've) been in contention for the NFC East each of the last six or seven years in which (they've) had a healthy quarterback...good enough to be in competition to win the division each of those years. But you get into the playoffs (and) it seems like it's the same refrain once you get into the playoffs. ...Each of the last three seasons that really shows you where the Cowboys mindset is, is that they're pretty sick of just being good enough to make the playoffs."

Washington and Dallas face off twice this season of course, but the last game comes in Week 18 in Texas where Commanders fans are hoping their team will give Jones the final push he needs to give that fan base the overhaul offseason this one just watched in 2024.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

Published Jun 24, 2024

DAVID HARRISON

David Harrison has covered the NFL since 2015 as a digital content creator in both written and audio media. He is the host of Locked On Commanders and a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. His previous career was as a Military Working Dog Handler for the United States Army. Contact David via email at david.w.harrison82@gmail.com or on Twitter @DHarrison82.