Dak Prescott, Troy Aikman comment on Cowboys' culture criticisms

Current Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott and Hall of Famer Troy Aikman both spoke during a charity event on Monday evening about criticisms of the club's culture related to the fact that the Cowboys haven't completed a trip to an NFC Championship Game since they won the Super Bowl in January 1996.

"Yeah, the culture is high honestly, and the culture is great from my standpoint," Prescott explained, according to Garrett Podell of CBS Sports. "My point is that's something I've bragged on and took pride in. So if there's questions of that or concerns on that, I feel attacked. I'm sure some guys in the locker room do, but at the end of the day, it's a business, and the way that this business plays out, people don't get exactly what they want. There's always sourness I guess you could say somewhere. I don't want to make anything bigger than that."

Cowboys legend and Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith generated plenty of headlines and sports-talk discussions this winter when he ripped current players and others associated with the team for, among other things, "not establishing their own legacy" and failing to build "off of the legacy that was established" when Smith and Aikman helped the club win three Super Bowl championships in the 1990s.

Prescott, meanwhile, had his career postseason record drop to 2-5 via Dallas' home 48-32 wild-card playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers in January. Aikman acknowledged on Monday that "there's a lot you have to overcome" while playing for one of the most well-known organizations in all of North American professional sports. 

"If you're coaching or playing for the Cowboys, there are distractions," Aikman said. "There's so much attention paid to this team, and I do think the way players come into the league has changed over the years. They're not together as much as they once were, like we were [the 1990's Cowboys], and it feels like a lot of players, if not all players, are building a personal brand as much as they are building a championship team. I think that's the challenge for coaches, especially in Dallas, but I think that's the challenge for coaches across the league."

The Cowboys may or may not soon sign Prescott to a contract extension as head coach Mike McCarthy prepares to enter the final year of his deal. Unless the Prescott-McCarthy duo guides the 2024 Cowboys to at least a conference championship game appearance, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones could pursue a different coach who, if nothing else, would likely take significant steps to alter the franchise's locker-room culture beginning with his first day on the job.