Stephen A. Smith Slams Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys for Culture Issue

Stephen A. Smith is calling out quarterback Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys for a culture problem.

During the latest episode of "First Take" on ESPN on Friday, Smith went in on Prescott and the Cowboys for being too "comfortable," which he says makes them more OK with losing than the team should be.

More specifically with Prescott, Smith wants to see the Cowboys quarterback do a better job holding teammates accountable publicly.

"I just want to say this about Dak Prescott," Smith said. "Here's what really, realy bothers me about him: he's a damn great player, he can ball, he's not a scrub, but the priority is always in saying the right things and coming across polished. Sometimes I'd like to see him ticked off. Sometimes I'd like to see him annoyed at his damn teammates. Sometimes I'd like to see this cat that's getting paid $60 million a year, that's gotten $337 million over the last seven years, that has one playoff win to show for it in that span, come across as a little pissed off."

"They living the life in Dallas. That's why they're trash. Because they're so damn comfortable that losing doesn't hurt enough," Stephen A. added.

"I wanna see him ticked. I wanna see him calling out teammates. I wanna see him doing whatever it takes to ruffle feather and to get cats uncomfortable with mediocrity. I don't see that with Dak Prescott.

Of course, it's hard to know just how much Prescott holds players accountable behind the scenes, but we know he takes the diplomatic approach publicly.

For a team struggling as badly as the Cowboys are, it certainly wouldn't hurt to see team leaders getting more fired up about Dallas' situation, and Prescott is included in that.

Not the first culture problem accusation

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and former player Demarcus Ware. — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones introduces former player Demarcus Ware into the Ring of Honor during halftime of the game against the Los Angeles Rams at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Smith isn't the only one who has questioned the Cowboys' culture.

First, former Cowboys quarterback Ben DiNucci called Dallas' offense out for a lack of effort.

"You can’t turn on the Cowboys tape from last night and tell me guys on that offense are giving 100%," DiNucci said. "Lazy, no attention to details, no creativity with play calls."

Then, Cowboys legend DeMarcus Ware called the Cowboys' defense out for its effort.

“When I played and there were problems, the first thing we did was how do we control the trenches?" Ware said. "That’s something that’s free. It’s the effort and attitude of the team. That’s something that can be changed, that’s not a quantitative thing. It’s a heart thing, a pride thing, an ego thing these guys have to sort of turn up. Yes, a lot of people are saying their season is over, but in the locker room there has to be a mentality shift to say we still got it.”

Culture issues are certainly on the players, but the biggest culprits are the coaches because everything starts with them.

Defensive coordinator Christian Parker gets a finger pointed at him, but head coach Brian Schottenheimer deserves the most blame, and that's yet another stain on his wildly unsuccessful tenure as the Cowboys' head coach.

Before even addressing these culture issues, the Cowboys have a lot of problems to fix. But when you include the culture problems, also, that makes it even less likely Dallas will right the ship.

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