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Emmitt Smith completely misses the mark with latest comments about Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys

Originally posted on A to Z Sports
By Mauricio Rodriguez | Last updated Aug 12, 2025 7:35 PM ET

Monday was a big day for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Not because of anything related to Micah Parsons—which remains the biggest story surrounding his team—but because it was the Netflix premiere for the documentary series America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.

The show is set to release Aug. 19 and for the event held in Los Angeles, California, many legendary faces were invited. That included Cowboys icon Emmitt Smith. And when the running back spoke to the media, he made sure not to upset Jones in his big day as he went to bat for the franchise owner when asked about the Jerry's role in the Cowboys' three-decade Super Bowl drought.

"Jerry never caught a pass, he never ran the ball, and he damn sure didn't throw one," Smith told reporters at the event via The Athletic's Jon Machota. "At some point, players gotta take ownership [. . .] We had to do it ourselves. We went to back to back Super Bowls and then we lost (Jimmy Johnson) and we were in disarray for a year. But as a player and as a leader of that ballclub, we took it upon ourselves. To say 'This is what we're going to do. We don't care who's at the helm."

Emmitt Smith when asked about Jerry Jones’ role in the Cowboys’ Super Bowl drought pic.twitter.com/e1CmR6AKSW
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 12, 2025

While Smith's point is valid—players must take ownership and there must be accountability from them—trying to make it seem like the Cowboys' problem the last 30 years has been more player-related than Jerry-related is unfair. Sure, they've played a large role in that but that has little to do with the criticism aimed at Jones.

Players have to take ownership but Jones is the one responsible to build a better team and bring in the better players. And yet, the Cowboys have avoided being major players in free agency, often to a fault. This year, Jones is responsible for the team's best player not practicing ahead of the season as the Micah Parsons contract saga continues. Keep in mind, the same happened with CeeDee Lamb last year. For years, the team's controversial negotiation tactics have resulted in alienating top agents in the game, which isn't harmful to the team.

And though the jury is still out on how Brian Schottenheimer will fare as a head coach, it's tough to ignore the following: Jones wanted Mike McCarthy back, albeit in a short-term deal, and the latter turned down the offer.

From there, Jones refused to formally interview more than four candidates, two of them were already familiar to the franchise. Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn and other top coaching candidates never received interest from Dallas. Instead, the team stuck with Schottenheimer.

And though it might be true that the decision was solely based on the team's belief on the young coach, it's hard not to speculate on whether or not it also had to with the financial aspect of striking a deal with Schottenheimer compared to being in the mix with other top players in the market.

I insist: Players have played a major role in the Cowboys' Super Bowl drought. But Smith's comments miss the mark. Jones has played the biggest part on what's happened since the last time his team lifted a Lombardi Trophy.

And that's not something to gloss over with a jab at multiple generations of players. It's much bigger than that.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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