"This is who they are" - Stephen A. Smith says Cowboys no longer an elite franchise

We already know how Stephen A. Smith feels about the Cowboys (not a fan favorite). He spends a lot of time trolling and dragging the boys from Dallas.

But what he said recently about the team on ESPN's Get Up really stood out.

Smith said that Dallas is no longer an elite franchise.

"This is what they do, he said. This is who they are. They weren't ready for the moment."

Smith continued to say that team stars such as Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott didn't show up when the Cowboys needed them to.

Smith also said he expected Dallas to fall apart at some point during the season.

Even former Cowboys stars like Michael Irvin condemned his former team and agreed with Smith.

Irvin had this to say on the Stacking the Box podcast via NBC Sports.

“Every team you look at, the stars of the team showed up and played,” Irvin said. “You can’t win in this game if your stars don’t show up and play. It’s Dak Prescott 69 passer rating. Ezekiel Elliot, 31 rushing yards. CeeDee Lamb, 21 yards on one reception.”

Irvin was dismayed at the poor performance of his former team in the 23-17 Wild Card loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Irvin continued,

“They had the star players playing like role players. That’s why they’ve got their butts sitting at home.”

Irvin isn't wrong about his former team.

What has happened to the Dallas Cowboys?

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones

The Dallas Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl in nearly 30 years and as time passes, it gets more difficult for the team and fans to fathom.

This was an elite franchise for decades and they haven't been elite for awhile.

Dallas has fallen on hard times and many blame owner Jerry Jones. Jones' refusal to turn the team over to a more experienced general manager has hurt his team over the years.

The team has had elite coaches over the years like Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells and, to a much lesser degree, Mike McCarthy, who have all won Super Bowls.

But in between, they have also hired Dave Campo, Jason Garrett and Barry Switzer.

Although Switzer did help the Cowboys win their third Super Bowl in the 90's, he didn't last long as head coach after winning it.

Jones is also known as a control freak, which is why a lot of big name coaches refuse to coach the team despite its talent. One of the rumored reasons why Johnson and Jones split was because the latter was upset that Johnson was getting all the credit for building that team into Super Bowl contenders.

Over the years, Irvin, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith have all said they believed they would have won more Super Bowls had Johnson stayed with the team.

In order for Dallas to return to elite status, Jerry Jones will have to put his ego aside and do what's best for his team.