Stephen A. Smith’s hatred for the Dallas Cowboys is well-documented at this point, constantly taking every chance to publically laugh at each of their failures on a week-to-week basis. But on Tuesday’s edition of First Take, Smith made his pitch for how Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could turn his organization into a winner.
After a Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Cowboys have fallen to 1-2 to start the season, their worst start as an organization since head coach Mike McCarthy’s first year with the team in the 2020-21 NFL season.
While there are very clear issues with the team currently, including a lack of rushing attack and rush defense on the other side of the ball, Smith feels that perhaps their biggest issues stem from McCarthy.
Smith broke down the Cowboys’ shortcomings, saying that this season is essentially a wash and that Jerry Jones needs to look towards the future, a future that should include former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
“I love my brother, Jerry Jones,” said Smith. “I promise you, this is what it’s going to be. All he’s gotta do is listen to me. If Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones listen to me, they are going to have a chance to win a championship. You’ve got your quarterback, you got your wide receiver. You gotta get some meat and potato brother. You got to get some beef. You can’t just get pushed around in football. And you’re gonna have to go and get yourself Bill Belichick. I know y’all think there is no way in hell that can work. That it can’t happen. I’m gonna repeat it. You’ve got an owner who’s the president, who’s the GM, he’s everything, right? He wants to be in front of the camera.
“Bill Belichick, what’s the last thing this man wants to do? I don’t give a damn about the appearances now. I don’t care what he’s doing. What’s the one thing coach Bill Belichick absolutely positively avoids doing? Talking to the media. Let Jerry get all the shine. Let him coach the team. And let me tell you something right now, you’re gonna have a bunch of brothers far more focused and prepared than they are right now. You do that and the Dallas Cowboys are challenging for the Super Bowl championship next year. This season’s a wash. You’re not gonna win anything this season. But if you listen to me Jerry I’m telling you before it’s time, you gonna get yourself a Super Bowl. Mark my words.”
It may be a bit early at this point for Smith to say that the Cowboys season is essentially done. But if things do continue the way they are going for the Cowboys, we could very well see Mike McCarthy on the hot seat fighting for his job.
Belichick is currently serving as a regular on the ManningCast alternate stream of Monday Night Football on ESPN2 alongside Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, on top of his responsibilities on the Let’s Go! podcast and his own show on Underdog Fantasy.
He has however already expressed that he wants to return to coaching for the 2025-26 NFL season. So the Cowboys would seemingly at least have the chance at getting Belichick if they want to.
The real question here is whether Belichick would be willing to work with Jerry Jones, who is notoriously involved with personnel moves within the organization. Belichick is also someone who has had control over the rosters that he coached in New England.
If Jerry Jones is willing to cede some control to Belichick, Smith could be onto something with this bit of advice for Jones. But if not, it seems very unlikely on paper that we would see Belichick go to Dallas.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.