They built a solid nucleus of players and slowly added a supporting cast around them. But slowly the nucleus of Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin came together. Slowly they moved from being colleagues to teammates. Slowly they became champions. Owners today want instant success.
Sports teams are expensive toys, and they are only fun to own when they win.
Free agency in most professional sports has served only to intensify that lusting after success and allowed owners to try to buy a championship. Rebuilding used to mean bringing up the young kids from the minor leagues and letting them bond as a unit. Today it means bringing in some expensive free agents like hired guns in a Clint Eastwood movie. Look at the New York Mets of three seasons ago. Mets ownership brought in Brett Saberhagen, Bobby Bonilla and other highly paid players and then proceeded to finish in last place.