DALLAS — Stephen A. Smith appeared on ESPN’s Get Up on Wednesday morning and said the crash he has been predicting for the Dallas Cowboys is still coming, then aimed it at the fan base rather than at Jerry Jones.
Smith showed up on the set after Adam Schefter said earlier in the same show that he had bad news for Smith and that the Cowboys are coming this season. Smith had already responded on X at 7:37 a.m. CT. Schefter confirmed on the set that he had called Smith out.
Smith was in Los Angeles having dinner with director Antoine Fuqua when Jones walked up behind him with his wife and grandchildren.
“I was hanging out in L.A., and I’m sitting there having dinner with my man Antoine Fuqua, the producer, director extraordinaire for ‘Michael,'” Smith said. “Somebody rolls up behind me and grabs me like this and hugs me. And I look up, and it is Jerry Jones. It was Jerry Jones with the family, the wonderful wife, the grandkids, the whole, because they love me. And I had to look at him. I had to go like this. Jerry’s done a good job.”
Fuqua directed Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic Lionsgate released on April 24.
Stephen A. Smith On The Dallas Cowboys Roster
Smith brought up the Los Angeles Rams as his measuring stick before returning to the Dallas roster.
“I’m looking at that roster, the Cowboys. I’m like this, damn, they’re pretty good,” Smith explained. “But are they the L.A. Rams? No. See, all it takes is one.”
Smith spoke with Hall of Fame Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin on Tuesday and told him he does not want a slow Dallas start.
“I said, yo, I don’t want y’all to stink up the joint early. I want the hopes to rise,” Smith said. “I want them hyped. I want them looking at it. We’re going to win the Super Bowl. And then, bam, they crash.”
Stephen A. Smith On Cowboys Fans
Smith separated Jones and his family from the group he was talking about.
“Not Jerry, because that’s my buddy. Not the family. Those are my peoples. I’m talking about them damn nauseating fan base of the Dallas Cowboys,” Smith said. “A nuclear bomb dropped, three things that survived: a rat, a roach, and a Cowboys fan. I want their Christmas to be disrupted. I want their New Year ruined. That’s what I want for Cowboy fans. And that’s what’s going to happen.”
Smith picked the Cowboys to win the NFC East and 12 to 13 games this season on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday morning. He described the same California meeting with Jones on that show and said Jones had done his job building the roster.
The Dallas Cowboys Entering Week 1
Dallas finished 7-9-1 and second in the NFC East last season and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. The Cowboys allowed 511 points, or 30.1 per game, which ranked 32nd in the league. They ranked 30th in total yards allowed and 32nd in passing yards allowed. On offense, Dallas scored 471 points, or 27.7 per game, which ranked 7th.
Pro Football Reference lists the Cowboys at plus-2500 to win the Super Bowl in preseason odds. Dallas spent three weeks of training camp at the River Ridge Playing Fields in Oxnard, California, before returning to The Star in Frisco for the preseason finale.
Christian Parker is in his first season as Cowboys defensive coordinator after Dallas hired him on Jan. 22. Brian Schottenheimer is in his second season as coach. Dallas opened the 2026 draft with two defensive first-round picks, taking Caleb Downs at No. 11 and Malachi Lawrence at No. 23.
The Cowboys open the season Sunday, Sept. 13, against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC. Dallas plays the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 in the NFL’s first game in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and hosts the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving for the first time since 2014.
