In the context of the theory of minimally modified gravity known as VCDM, one can realize any cosmological behavior at the level of the homogeneous and isotropic background without introducing fatal instabilities for perturbations. The ‘V’ in VCDM represents the variable function ?(?) that is introduced in this framework. Therefore, VCDM provides a theoretically consistent and observationally testable framework of dynamical dark energy parameterizations with or without phantom behaviors. In this paper, we propose the VCDM realizations of various phenomenological parameterizations present in the literature: the Chevallier–Polarski–Linder (CPL), Barboza–Alcaniz (BA), Jassal–Bagla–Padmanabhan (JBP), Exponential (EXP), and Logarithmic (LOG) models. Using the VCDM equations for cosmological perturbations, we test them against the recent cosmological datasets, Planck 2018 and DESI BAO DR2, and then discuss their implications. We find that the equation of state crosses the phantom regime (w < -1) at higher redshifts for all the paramterizations, as is also indicated by the DESI DR2 results. In principle, we confirm the phantom crossing of dynamical dark energy in a more stable theoretical framework of VCDM. Moreover, our approach does not rely on prior assumptions regarding the dynamics or microphysical origin of the equation of state, enabling a purely observational investigation into whether the dark energy transition favors a quintessence-like or phantom-like behavior. Together, these developments set the stage for a transformative decade in cosmology, one that may ultimately challenge and reshape our current theoretical paradigm.