Emmitt Smith is the latest Dallas Cowboys alum to express distaste with the decisions that owner Jerry Jones has made for 2025.Jones selected former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to become the next head coach of the team after not being able to come to a long-term agreement with Mike McCarthy.Smith, who built a Hall of Fame career as a Cowboy from 1990-2001 by clinching three Super Bowls, said “we’ll see where it goes” in regards to Schottenheimer’s ascension.Read more: Cowboys Legend Michael Irvin Goes Off on Jerry Jones for Not Hiring Deion Sanders
“I’m going to reserve most of my comments for a later date, but right now I’m just soaking it in,” Smith said to Sports Lens. “What has happened and trying to analyze where we go from here and what it is going to look like. I don’t even know who he has on his staff yet, who he retained, who he got rid of, who he’s bringing in.”
As fellow Cowboys legend Michael Irvin also recently expressed, Smith found Jones’s decision to overlook Deion Sanders for the job “disappointing.”

Sanders, who has transformed the Colorado Buffaloes in the past two seasons, was contacted by Jones about the position but was never granted an interview.
“It is kind of disappointing that from an opportunity standpoint, he wasn’t considered high enough to do it,” Smith continues to say. “But like I said, some things have to play themselves out.”I know Deion has done a tremendous job in Colorado with limited resources and unfortunately for some African-American coaches, we always start off with limited resources and do the best we can with it,” says Smith. “For Deion I think Deion is definitely proving that he can manage, he can put together a staff under limited conditions. He’s done it at Jackson State, he’s done it at Colorado and he’s bringing in Hall of Fame players to help and assist. The game itself has changed so much and I think Deion has a way of connecting with current players and younger players as well.”Read more: Cowboys Officially Hire Next Head Coach, And It’s Not Deion SandersSmith’s ideology is that the Cowboys need less “flash” and more “balance” on their roster; he is a proponent of a defensive mindset in favor of an offensive one.
“I think the Cowboys need a defensive-minded coach. I really do,” said Smith.
“I think the organization has gotten away from truly what has made it great, and that is running the football and throwing the football, being a well-balanced offensive unit,” says Smith. “I think we’re too busy trying to chase after this flash of trying to find the next Patrick Mahomes or the next Tom Brady or someone of that level. Those guys, they’re once-in-a-generation talents. Jayden (Daniels) is doing a tremendous job with the Washington Commanders.”
Smith is the NFL‘s all-time rushing leader with 18,355 total yards. He won a Super Bowl MVP in 1994 and an NFL MVP in 1993.
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