Emmitt Smith addresses current state of Dallas Cowboys: 'We're not leading anymore, we're following now'

By now, it’s become common knowledge that it’s been 30 years since the Dallas Cowboys appeared in the NFC Championship Game.

With division rival Washington Commanders making a run to the title game this season, Dallas now owns the longest NFC title game drought of any team in the conference. That’s quite the fall-off from when the Cowboys won three Super Bowls during the 1990s. Pro Football Hall of Fame tailback Emmitt Smith was a major part of those championship teams and wants to see his former team get back to finding their identity as leaders instead of followers, he said Friday on ESPN‘s “Get Up” live from New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl LIX.

“I would just say this — I talk about the Eagles and their commitment to what they’re doing with Saquon Barkley. There’s a commitment there,” Smith said. “I think the Dallas Cowboys have gotten away from the commitment to the things that made them great in the first place. When I say the first place, when Jerry actually bought the team, there was a sense of urgency to win games. There was a sense of urgency to recoup my investment. It was a sense of urgency and a vision that there was a line. Not only from a branding standpoint, but from an operation level football standpoint. And that commitment was led by Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones. Both of them, locked and loaded.

“And so, first couple of years there was a lot of turnover. Until we got the nucleus in everything that we wanted. Like, I gotta make sure my coaching staff is right and solid. So, they went out and hired Norv Turner to come in and stabilize that offense. Once that got stabilized, it was a straight mission to the Super Bowl. And once we got to the Super Bowl, that’s just the way things were. We have gotten so far away from that. We’re not leading anymore, we’re following now. And we need to get back in terms of leading on the football field. As well as leading on the business side — buildings, stadium and everything else.”

Cowboys looking to get over the hump with new HC in place

In the three decades since their last Super Bowl triumph, coaches, quarterbacks and Hall of Fame talent have come and go. The constant has been Jones, who serves as both owner and general manager of the Cowboys.

Jones has built some good rosters and brought in some established head coaches. But nothing has been able to get Dallas over the hump. Now, Jones is going outside the box. After failing to come to an agreement with Mike McCarthy on a new contract, Jones promoted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach.

For someone with no head coaching experience, Jones said that makes hiring Schottenheimer “as big a risk as you can take.”

“I know that Shotty is no stranger to these guys,” Jones said. “Know he’s no stranger to this building. I get my proverbial ass kicked over needing people in my comfort zone. Without this thing being about me in any way, if you don’t think I can’t operate out of my comfort zone, you’re so wrong it’s unbelievable.

“This is as big a risk as you can take. As big a risk as you can take. No head-coaching experience.”