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Dear Santa: A Christmas wish list from a realistic Cowboys fan

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Dear Santa,

I know it seems silly for me to be writing to you because I’m a 38-year-old man, but I like to think I’m still a kid at heart, and I still believe in the spirit of Christmas. The spirit of Christmas is described as a mood or attitude that is appropriate to the Christmas season, and is often characterized by feelings of good will, benevolence, and a willingness to enjoy oneself.

I displayed good will when I donated to my community’s local toy drive. I’ve shown benevolence by paying for my coworker’s meal at lunch the other day. I have a willingness to enjoy myself, and I definitely experience joy through my interactions with family and friends. But when it comes to experiencing joy for my Dallas Cowboys, Santa, what gives?

Every year I ask you for the same thing: for the Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl, but you haven’t come through for me since 1995. After 28 years of asking, I thought to myself, “maybe you’re asking for too much, Mario.” I think about what I say to my kids when they comment that if Santa were real, why don’t I just ask for millions of dollars so we can be rich?

I have to explain to them that Santa doesn’t work that way, and he appreciates it when you are humble and don’t ask for extravagant things. I’m taking my own advice here, and I’m going to lower my expectations. Hopefully, asking for several small things can naturally lead to a Super Bowl. Santa, here is my Christmas wish list from a realistic Cowboys fan.

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An OC As Creative As Your Master Elf

The offense this season was not a good unit even before all the injuries. After losing QB Dak Prescott to a torn hamstring, the season felt over, but there has been some improvement to the running game in his absence, and the offense hasn’t looked half bad.

However, we need a coach that can come in and make the best out of the talent that is on the roster, just like how your Master Elf designs new toys for kids to enjoy. An offense quarterbacked by Dak Prescott throwing to weapons like CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, KaVontae Turpin, and Jake Ferguson should not have looked so disjointed.

I like Mike McCarthy, but his offensive scheme is archaic, and he worries me as a play-caller. The offense suddenly looks like a functioning unit with Cooper Rush under center, but it’s only because McCarthy was forced to make the running game the forefront of the offense. That was something we had been pounding the table for since the beginning of the season.

McCarthy could stay on as head coach, but he would need to relinquish the offense to someone else. A young, innovative mind that is hip with current NFL trends. Santa, please bring me a new offensive coordinator that can get the best out of Dak Prescott and the rest of the offense.

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An Offense As Fast As Your Sleigh

Santa, if you’re able to bring me a new offensive coordinator, he will need new toys to play with. I need the Cowboys to bring in some speed on offense as fast as your sleigh on Christmas Eve. Our fastest player is KaVontae Turpin, and he makes plays with his speed all the time. Sometimes it’s on kick returns, but I like it when he is in there on offense.

Can you imagine what the offense could look like with another two or three players to match Turpin’s speed? I look at other offenses like the Dolphins and Bengals, and I wish my team had speed across the board like that.

There are many fast players coming up in the NFL draft, and I know there will be some free agents who can bring some more juice to the offense if you feel generous enough to bring me some. Speaking of free agents…

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Quality Free Agents Under the Christmas Tree

Santa, please help the Cowboys bring in some quality free agents next season. I’m tired of my free agents all being cheap knock-offs of their former selves, and I’m tired of seeing other teams fight over free agents like Black Friday before Christmas, while Cowboys fans have to stand outside the store and watch through the window.

I want my team to join in on the free agent frenzy for once. I don’t want to hear nonsense about pies or the salary cap or how much money they have to put aside for future contracts. I want my team to do something RIGHT NOW, not for the future.

There will be plenty of opportunities to add blue-chip free agents because the Cowboys currently have 25 players on the final years of their contracts. There will be large holes to fill on the roster, and the draft cannot possibly fill them all.

The free agent frenzy includes their own players, as well. As much as I’d like for them to bring back players like CB Jourdan Lewis, DT Osa Odighizuwa, and DE DeMarcus Lawrence, it cannot be a “we like our guys” scenario this year.

Other names that could be available from other teams at positions of need include the following players:

  • WR Tee Higgins (Cincinnati)
  • WR Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay)
  • CB D.J. Reed (NY Jets)
  • S Justin Reid (Kansas City)
  • LB Dre Greenlaw (San Francisco)
  • RB Aaron Jones (Minnesota)
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Fill the Jones’ With Christmas Spirit

The Dallas Cowboys are one of the best teams in the NFL when it comes to drafting, but Jerry and Stephen Jones are some of the worst when it comes time to negotiate new contracts for those players. We saw it with Dak Prescott (twice). We saw it with WR CeeDee Lamb. I don’t want to see the same thing happen with DE Micah Parsons.

Parsons’ upcoming contract isn’t the only one on the docket, but it definitely is the biggest one. I don’t want it to turn into a circus where the Jones’ start talking about future contracts, or worse, somehow start leaving breadcrumbs of negativity about the player to the media to drive the price down.

Santa, none of that please. Put the Christmas spirit into their hearts so they can feel benevolence and get contracts done with our favorite players in a timely manner without any mudslinging or players unfollowing the team on social media.

Parsons had his 5th-year option on his contract picked up by the team, but DT Osa Odighizuwa, DE Chauncey Golston, and CB Israel Mukuamu are also up for new deals from the 2021 draft class. I’d like to see their negotiations go smoothly, and I’d like to see the three of them brought back in some capacity.

So, you see, Santa? I am not asking for the Super Bowl. I’m not even asking you for an NFC Championship Game. I’m simply asking for these small things to happen because I know the Dallas Cowboys are close to being a great team. They just need these little things to get them over the hump, but they need your help to do it.

Sincerely,

The realistic Cowboys fan, Mario.

Mario Herrera Jr.

Staff Writer

Mario Herrera Jr. is a husband, a father of three, and he has been a Dallas Cowboys fan since 1991. He's a stats guy, although stats don't always tell the whole story. Writing about the Dallas Cowboys is his passion. Dak Prescott apologist.

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