Emmitt Smith on Cowboys: 'No one wants to fight hard anymore'

Field Level Media|published: Sat 10th February, 11:01 2024

Dec 30, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys former head coach Jimmy Johnson celebrates with former players Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith after being inducted into the ring of honor at halftime of the game against the Detroit Lions at AT&T Stadium. credits: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Emmitt Smith played a significant role in helping the Dallas Cowboys win their last three Super Bowl titles but that doesn't mean the Hall of Fame running back won't criticize his former team — and notably owner Jerry Jones.

Smith, in fact, didn't hold back on Friday during his interview with Pro Football Talk Live.

Smith, 54, was asked if he was surprised Jones didn't fire head coach Mike McCarthy after the Cowboys' 48-32 loss to the visiting Green Bay Packers on Jan. 14 in the NFC wild-card round.

"I was completely surprised," Emmitt said. "I know how disappointed I was as a player to see that product put on the football field. It is not becoming of the Dallas Cowboys' mystique, respect, the brand. It is not the appropriate representation of the brand itself.

"Now, Jerry understands these kind of words. The brand, right? The star. Everything has to be pristine, but this was not that. That right there was so disappointing not only to me, but to many of our fans and including people that was like, ‘What is that?' It wasn't a good look."

Smith kept his foot on the gas when asked what he felt was missing from the team.

"Nobody wants to fight no more," Smith said. "No one wants to fight hard anymore. They wanna (say), ‘Oh, we are the Cowboys. Tell me how good I am. Check out my Instagram posts. See me on my podcast? I'm doing all this stuff. I'm everything.' Without doing anything.

"And everybody's patting them on the back without doing anything. People wanna give them so much without doing nothing. And what they're living off of is what happened in the past, not what's going down right now. They're not establishing their own legacy, let alone building off of the legacy that was established."

McCarthy, 60, owns a 167-102-2 coaching record with the Green Bay Packers (2006-2018) and Cowboys, including a 42-25 mark during his four seasons in Dallas. He helped the former win the Super Bowl during the 2010 season but has yet to do the same for the Cowboys.

—Field Level Media

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