Jerry Jones has been aggressively trying to build a winning team this year. There are still some unknowns about the 2026 roster’s true potential, but the Cowboys community, including former players, is getting antsy. The pressure is mounting for the Dallas Cowboys to end their 30-year championship drought. 

When Eddie Farrer asked if Jones would “strut on everybody” should the Cowboys finally return to the Super Bowl after making such controversial moves, Michael Irvin did not hold back. 

“I hope he [Jerry Jones] struts his stuff around everything,” Irvin said during his appearance on Wake Up Barstool. “Strut it on everybody, put it and do everything. I won’t have time to know how much Jerry’s doing. I’m too busy doing my own s—. I’m so tired of people talking about it’s been 30 years. They act like history is only them 30 years. They just throw out the first 30 and only focus on the last 30. That trips me out. I want to shut that mouth.

“On the other side, there’s some credence to what they’re saying. We cannot remain America’s team if a whole generation of Americans never see us in a championship game. And in 10 more years, since the Bible calls 40 years a generation, we would have missed a whole damn generation. So, the time is now!”

30 years is a long time for a fanbase to lose hope in the grand scheme of things: pretty much what diehard Dallas Cowboys fans have been feeling all this time. After hitting a plateau of sorts in the 2000s, the franchise has found some momentum in the last 10 years, posting 10+ wins in four seasons. However, the conference championship and the Super Bowl remain elusive targets for ‘America’s Team.’ The last time Dallas won the Super Bowl was the 1995 season.

And after last season’s defensive blunders — the team is infamously known for fielding the worst defense of 2025 — the Cowboys seem to have had a wake-up call.

The Cowboys have overhauled their defense and are going all-in with first-time but reliable defensive coordinator Christian Parker. Jones said earlier in the year they would take an “aggressive” approach to rebuild the defense, and have added players like Rashan Gary, Cobie Durant from free agency, and talented rookies like Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence from the draft. Even quarterback Dak Prescott has noted how different this offseason has been for the Cowboys front office.

“This is as urgent as I’ve ever felt [owner] Jerry [Jones],” he told Yahoo! during a recent interview. “Sure, there’s times he’s said it, and then we’ve looked up and he hadn’t done much in free agency. Or this, this and that. But starting from free agency, they started doing things they hadn’t done. And it’s kudos to [head coach Brian Schottenheimer] and [vice president of player personnel] Will [McClay] and the whole team, but it’s also Jerry making that decision of being aggressive and trying to go out and get what he wants.” 

The Cowboys already have one of the more electric passing attacks in the offense. Led by Prescott, the unit features an explosive arsenal of playmakers, including wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, alongside running back Javonte Williams. Even ESPN’s Steven Ruiz placed Prescott above Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen as his preseason MVP choice. 

But Prescott’s urgency stems from the owner. During a candid conversation with The Athletic, Jones admitted that he urgently wants a win before the curtains fall. Now 83 years old, the legendary owner knows that his time at the helm in Dallas will eventually end. And one day, he won’t be there to toss in his “two cents.”

“I don’t have time, personally, to have a bad time,” the Cowboys owner recently stated. “It’s not on my schedule. I have a natural urgency because of my age.” 

If the Dallas Cowboys want to retain the prestigious moniker of “America’s Team” for the next generation, they certainly need to claim a win this time.