IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys have not had consecutive seasons with double-digit wins in 18 years.
Ridiculous.
It's hard to believe the Cowboys have not won at least 10 games in back-to-back seasons since they ruled the NFL in the mid-1990s. However you interpret that information, the reality is it's an embarrassing streak.
Only six franchises have longer streaks.
The Kansas City Chiefs haven't done it since 1992 and 1993, and the Washington Redskins' drought began in 1990 and 1991.
The New York Jets went to consecutive AFC Championship games in 2009 and 2010 but haven't put consecutive 10-win seasons together since the mid-'80s. Neither have the Cleveland Browns.
The Detroit Lions, a franchise established in 1930, have never done it, nor have the Carolina Panthers, an expansion team formed in 1995.
The goal for these Cowboys is to end that sorry streak this season.
It begins this week at the NFL scouting combine by getting a feel for the players they want to select in the draft, and it will continue through free agency and training camp as they put together the 2015 roster.
We all know the genius of the NFL's business model is that it's designed to create parity, creating optimism in 32 NFL cities each spring.
The draft, free agency and the way the schedule is set up is designed to give every team an opportunity to make the playoffs each season. And when you consider most games are decided by a handful of plays, it's pretty easy to see how the fortunes of teams can change yearly.
When teams such as the Cowboys have failed to put consistent winners on the field, it's usually an indictment of the organization.
Given that, fans actually should feel good about the Cowboys' ability to put another winner on the field next season, provided Tony Romo stays healthy and the Cowboys make the right decision as it relates to free-agent running back DeMarco Murray.
The organization is the best it has been since Bill Parcells arrived in 2003 and provided structure.
Jason Garrett, like Parcells, has provided organizational direction. More important, he has teamed with vice president Stephen Jones to prevent Jerry Jones from making the kind of dumb decisions that kept this franchise stuck in the abyss for nearly 20 years.
And they do it without insulting Jerry, because he trusts their judgment.
Will McClay directs the draft and moves seamlessly between departments to ensure the coaching and scouting staffs and front office all have the same vision. The Cowboys have a clear philosophy these days, which is why they passed on Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel for Notre Dame guard Zack Martin in last year's draft.
McClay wants productive players, preferably captains, from Power 5 conferences. Exceptions do exist, but not many.
The Cowboys followed their 13-win season in 2007 with nine wins in 2008. They won 11 games in 2009, but only six in 2010. (You could blame some of that on Romo missing the final 10 games with a broken collarbone, but they were 1-5 when he got injured.)
With Jerry, forever the optimist, running the show because former coach Wade Phillips was just happy to be the head coach, the Cowboys basked in the euphoria of being close.
Jerry and Phillips believed those teams were just a player or two away from winning a title, so they made decisions based on that. They drafted a niche player in running back Felix Jones during the first round, and they rewarded guys like Marion Barber and Miles Austin with huge contracts and received little production in return.
But with Garrett at the helm, the Cowboys won't make decisions based on being one or two players away from the Super Bowl.
"We're challenging our guys to continue doing what they've done but to also do the things necessary to take the next step," Garrett said last month. "We'll continue to fight the way we fought and battle the way we battled and do all the things that I thought made this team special, but we gotta get back to work.
"Our goals are higher than what we accomplished this year. We have to be bound and determined to refocus and get back to work so we can achieve our ultimate goals."
Garrett doesn't sound like a coach satisfied with 12 regular-season wins, a division title and this franchise's second playoff win since the 1997 season.
He sounds like a dude determined to end yet another one of this franchise's wretched streaks.