Raiders, Cowboys and Dolphins go another season long removed from their championship days

HENDERSON, Nev. — The sayings “commitment to excellence” and “just win, baby” encapsulated what the Raiders represented as they bulldozed their way to three Super Bowl titles with a take-no-prisoners style that endeared and villainized them.

Dallas became the self-proclaimed “America’s Team” as the Cowboys built one of the NFL’s most successful and influential teams that owns five Vince Lombardi Trophies and, similar to the Raiders, a swagger that has attracted them to a large segment of NFL fans while alienating others.

And the Miami Dolphins — though without the national following of the other two teams — proved perfection could exist as the dominant team of the early 1970s that remained a top contender into the ’80s.

All three franchises are at least a generation removed from their glory days. The Raiders haven’t played in the Super Bowl in 22 years, the Cowboys in 29 and the Dolphins in 40. Dallas’ last Super Bowl appearance also was its last championship, but the Raiders are 41 years from their most recent title and it’s at 51 years for the Dolphins.

And none appear close to ending such droughts.

Las Vegas and Dallas will enter next season with new coaches, and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel’s future beyond next season is unclear after Miami took a noticeable step back in 2024.

The three teams can look to the Pittsburgh Steelers as hope of returning to such a prominent place.

After winning four Super Bowls in the the ’70s, the Steelers didn’t return to the championship game for 16 years and didn’t win it all for 26 years. That title began a six-year stretch in which the Steelers made the Super Bowl three times and won it twice.

But it has been a struggle in the 14 seasons since to return to that prominence. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since they made the AFC championship game in the 2016 season.

This season ended with five consecutive losses that included a one-and-done playoff appearance.

“After losing five in a row, it’s hard to say we’re closer,” Steelers President Art Rooney II said.

So where do the three teams stand?

Raiders

The club is on its fourth full-time coach since moving to Las Vegas in 2020, having hired Pete Carroll last month. Owner Mark Davis turned over much of the coaching search to seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback and minority owner Tom Brady, so he hopes his presence in the organization will help it finally rediscover its championship roots.

Las Vegas has nearly $100 million in salary-cap space for new general manager John Spytek, according to overthecap.com, to make over a roster that has a number of holes, especially on offense. The most notable need is quarterback, a spot the Raiders figure to address through free agency, the draft or both.

“We’ll see what we build here,” Davis said. “But it’s still the Raiders. That’s something everybody’s got to remember.”

Cowboys

Owner Jerry Jones had one of the NFL’s all-time dominant teams when Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin led the Cowboys to three championships in four seasons in the early to mid-1990s.

Jones has been searching for that success since, and he has shown patience at coach and QB. Jason Garrett got almost 10 years to try to break through and Mike McCarthy was brought back for the final season of his contract after losing to the Green Bay Packers, 48-32, in the wild-card playoffs a year ago.

McCarthy will not be return next season, and whether Brian Schottenheimer is the answer at coach is far from sure.

The Cowboys also have had just two starting quarterbacks — Tony Romo and Dak Prescott — since the the middle of the 2006 season. Prescott will enter the first year of a four-year, $240 million contract. His $89.9 million salary-cap hit next season is prohibitive, meaning Dallas likely will need to restructure his contract.

“Every team who made a coaching decision was looking at how they solve for their quarterback,” Cowboys executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said. “That’s how you win in this league. I think we’ve got one of the best, if not the best, in terms of our quarterback, and he’s the ultimate leader. We just have to continue to put the pieces around.”

Dolphins

Miami showed signs in 2023 that it could be making a return to contender status, going 11-6 behind Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. But some of the shine McDaniel’s creative play calling came off this past season as the Dolphins went from first in yardage and second in scoring to 18th and 22nd, respectively.

That drop in production forced McDaniel to answer whether someone else should handle play-calling. McDaniel didn’t rule it out, but said he believed the team was better with him at the controls.

Questions of whether Tagovailoa is the long-term solution at QB also have not gone away, particularly given his concussion history.

“This year, again we had high expectations,” GM Chris Grier said. “Injuries happen and I am not using that as an excuse. It is what it is. Every team deals with it. I would say our biggest one, no matter what happens, is, obviously, the quarterback. When he misses 6 1/2 games, when we miss it by a game getting into the playoffs, to me that’s the difference there.”