Stephen A. Smith believes one ESPN personality can fix Cowboys horrendous defense
· Yahoo Sports
The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Arizona Cardinals, 33-30, in Week 8. The Cowboys blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter as Cardinals’ backup quarterback Gardner Minshew threw three touchdown passes in the final 11-minutes of regulation.
After the game owner Jerry Jones said he had no plans to make any coaching changes during the season. Monday morning on “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith had other ideas. While spending a very long segment trashing the Cowboys top to bottom, he said that the Cowboys biggest problem is the fact that Jones didn’t hire Rex Ryan as defensive coordinator.
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Smith then suggested Jones could save the season by correcting that mistake immediately.
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“[Rex Ryan] should be the new defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys and come to the rescue for America’s team!” —@stephenasmith on what the Dallas Cowboys need to do next 😭 https://t.co/bY7EGvaPIt
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 2, 2026
“He should call ESPN today,” Smith said of Jerry Jones. “He should sit up there and demote those brothers aside. Rex Ryan should not be on ‘NFL Countdown’ anymore. Even though I want him on there. He should not be on ‘Get Up’ anymore. Even though I love seeing him on there. He should be the new defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys and come to the rescue of America’s team.”
Considering the Indianapolis Colts once plucked a talking head with zero coaching experience off the set of “Get Up” and made him head coach, people wouldn’t even blink if the Cowboys suddenly hired Rex Ryan. Sure, he hasn’t been in the NFL for a decade, but he was the head coach of two teams and took the Jets to the AFC Championship Game twice. It would certainly be worth a try.
Smith first brought up Ryan earlier in the segment in the middle of a prolonged rant that appeared to be slowly, but effectively killing Michael Irvin’s spirit in real time.
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“They are trash. They are horrible. They are pathetic!” @stephenasmith goes OFF on the Dallas Cowboys after their loss to the Arizona Cardinals 😬 https://t.co/58g5c1WPr2
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 2, 2026
As far as Stephen A. Smith rants go, this was pretty good. He’s excited, but not too far over the top. He doesn’t once break into his Texas accent or put on a 10-gallon hat. It seems that sticking mostly to facts and not using theatrics actually hurts Michael Irvin more than usual his usual appearances after a Dallas loss.
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