Future bright for some, bleak for others

By David Mullen

As the year comes to a close, many people are looking for a fresh start to 2025. They are cleaning out clutter, looking for ways to tighten belts literally (lose weight) and figuratively (reduce expenses) and making resolutions that are assembled with the best intentions. It is the time for reflection.

The same criteria applies to local sports teams. Here is an assessment of recent activity and how they can improve in the future.

Dallas Cowboys. The biggest frustration for Cowboys fans is that the team seems slow to react and even slower to institute change. It starts at the top. Owner Jerry Jones has been the one constant for the team since 1989. No infusion of new perspectives. No empowerment to decision makers not named Jones. The results are a frustrating legacy for a team that has not played in a Super Bowl this century.

Most fans knew the future was not with head coach Mike McCarthy. Yet, Jones stuck with him after a string of winning regular seasons that earned playoffs berths and led to playoff frustration. McCarthy almost certainly will be gone at the end of the year. Jones waited one year too long.

While teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and others were evolving, the Cowboys remained comfortable with the status quo. Personnel directors at the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers recognized the importance of strengthening their running game, but Jones was “all in” by reaching into the past and signing a wilted Ezekiel Elliott. 

The running game was nonexistent for the first half of the season, and by then the season was broken.

Jones gave quarterback Dak Prescott a contract that few if any teams would have offered. The result was Prescott missing most of the season due to injury and the Cowboys without a backup plan. Dallas must hope that Prescott can return with a new outlook. Instead, Prescott will return one year older.

Things are about to get worse before they get better and only one man can change it. Jones must give up the reins to a team of forward-thinking football executives. Like the Cowboys, don’t expect Jones to change. 

2025 outlook: D

SMU Mustangs. Instead of being intimidated by a move to the ACC, SMU was inspired. They had an epic season as a first-year conference member, and SMU football is relevant again because they were ready for the move. There is a lot to like on the Hilltop because university management came in with a plan, starting in late 2021 with the hiring of head coach Rhett Lashlee. 

2025 outlook: A

Texas Rangers. After a magical 2023 led to a World Championship, injuries and hitting woes resulted in a serious decline and no playoffs in 2024. But instead of dwelling on a successful season one year removed, Texas is rebuilding for 2025.        

The Rangers knew they needed pitching and committed to Nathan Eovaldi for the next three seasons. They acquired backup help at catcher by signing Kyle Higashioka. They traded for Jake Burger, who is poised to become a lethal bat in the lineup and a fan favorite. And they continue to make room for homegrown talent. The Rangers are poised for a big comeback and another playoff run next season.  

2025 outlook: B+

Dallas Stars. The Stars knew they were a good team, with the window closing as key personnel were beginning to age out of peak performance. Instead of giving the current team one last chance at glory, Stars GM Jim Nill has acquired young talent to blend in with a veteran roster and has given the team hope for future success.  

2025 outlook: B+

Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks have never been resistant to change. Even in a lesser role, the fingerprints of (now part) owner Mark Cuban are all over a team that made it to the NBA Finals in 2024. 

But unlike Jones, Cuban was smart. He stopped meddling with the front office and let GM Nico Harrison and head coach Jason Kidd make decisions and be held accountable. 

They have made sensible roster moves and improved the team. The issue facing the Mavs is the competitive set. The NBA’s Western Conference is loaded. The Mavs won’t go down without a fight. 

2025 outlook: B

Dallas Wings. The WNBA team has played in relative obscurity in Arlington. With the first overall pick in tow (almost assuredly UConn guard Paige Bueckers) and a move to Dallas for the 2026 season ahead, the Wings are ready to take flight. They need to establish themselves as an entertaining team in a unique basketball league and not play into the WNBA’s desire to be compared with the NBA. The WNBA is a different game and that is fine. 

2025 outlook: B

Looking back on 2024, the images of the Packers, Vikings and Cleveland Browns wearing white helmets, baseball players being judged by statistics like “barreling the ball,” sports on streaming services and professional football players dropping the football at the one-yard line assuming they scored a touchdown will be erased. Instead, 2025 will bring playoff runs for the Stars, Mavericks and Rangers, an infusion of Far Eastern players in MLB and Bill Belichick wearing a North Carolina hoodie on the sidelines. A whole new year lies ahead.