"It is a crying shame" - Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith fumes over 29-year Super Bowl drought

Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith isn't too pleased with the team's 29-year drought without a Super Bowl. The Cowboys last won the Lombardi Trophy in 1996, but they have not played in the big game ever since, nor have they even made it to the conference championship game.

Smith said that the fact that the Cowboys have not been able to climb the top of the mountain for nearly three decades has been annoying him.

“That part bugs me," Smith said via The Dallas Morning News. "It bugs me because, in my heart, I truly believe our organization should be contending for an NFC championship game and even a Super Bowl at least once or twice every decade because every team recycles every decade. For us not to be there over the last 30 years is a crying shame.”

Smith also said that the Cowboys need to be smart with their draft picks, and select players who they know will move the team in the right direction

“I look at us and I say, when you draft somebody, they already got to know what's expected," Smith said. "They already have to know that there comes a long line of historians and history that comes along with it that you have to embrace. You just cannot ignore it. And you have to figure out, what can I do to leave my mark on the game? And the game is bigger than me. And what do I need to do to help my teammates so they understand what's important."

The Cowboys had another disappointing season in 2024, finishing third in the NFC East with a 7-10 record, failing to make the playoffs. However, Dallas enters a new era in the 2025 season, with Brian Schottenheimer, who was appointed in January, as its new coach.

Emmitt Smith won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys

Former Dallas Cowboys RB Emmitt Smith - Source: Imagn

Emmitt Smith played 13 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys from 1990 to 2002, and won three Super Bowls with the franchise. The running back also played two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before retiring.

Smith holds the NFL record for the most rushing yards (18,355), rushing touchdowns (164) and carries (4,409). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.