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The Dallas Cowboys haven’t been to an NFC Championship Game in over three decades.
Their drought celebrated its 30th anniversary this January, and no matter what measures were taken, nothing worked.
It’s a far cry from the glory days of the organization, with Emmitt Smith running wild in the backfield. And even though Smith has been off the field for a while, he has an idea of what’s holding them back.
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Former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith (left) shakes hands with owner Jerry Jones after receiving his Hall of Fame ring at halftime of the game against the Detroit Lions at Cowboys Stadium on November 21, 2010. (Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)
“I think if there’s anything that I think has held us back, I think we’ve gotten away from what really helped build the organization from the beginning. In the beginning, you had Jimmie Johnson, you had Jerry Jones, both of them had a crazy passion for what they wanted to accomplish, and winning Super Bowls was the ultimate goal,” Smith said in a recent interview with PK Press Club Digital.
“Building this team took sacrifice and decision-making. And they made the right decisions. They traded players, they got more players and they rebuilt this organization overnight. But to put all that together and be passionate about rebuilding the organization and do it in the past, in a quick way, that’s what they both did. To me, that’s the model of what this organization should be forever. That’s the mark of what this organization should be forever.”
Smith then alluded to a lack of toughness on the part of the Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith (22) before facing the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XVIII at the Georgia Dome on January 30, 1994. (James D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports)
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“You think about the Pittsburgh Steelers, you don’t have to think about tough, because they’re going to play hard. That’s how the Cowboys should be. And when you think about the (San Francisco 49ers), they’re kind of like that now. And when you think about the (New England Patriots), they were like that with (Bill) Belichick, and that’s how they were with Robert Kraft and everything else. That’s who they were.
“Organizations have a fiber that makes them great. When you see organizations move away from that fiber, you now see how long it takes to get back to where you once were. And I think that’s the thing with the Cowboys. There should be a common thread: Excellence on the football field leads to excellence in the licensing world, or in the marketing world, or in the sports world in general, you are the brand. Forget what’s in your bank account because that you can sell a ton of merchandise, and that means you’re a better marketing team that way. However, you don’t represent excellence when you haven’t won anything in 30 years.
Last year’s Cowboys defense was already suspect even before the team traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. They then allowed a season-high 30.1 points per game en route to a 7-9-1 record.
Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith reacts at Candlestick Park on January 17, 1993, after their NFC championship victory against the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco, CA. The Cowboys won 30-20 and will meet the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII. (Garcia/AFP)
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The offseason was riddled with another contract dispute, as George Pickens was franchise-tagged after a career year, his first with the Cowboys.
The Cowboys scored 27.7 points per game, fifth in the league.
