FRISCO, Texas – The countdown is on. Twelve days before liftoff for the 2026 Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, Calif. Still relatively quiet out here, though AT&T Stadium has been buzzing with nine World Cup matches taking place, finishing in grand style on Tuesday with Spain's 2-0 victory over France in a semifinal game.
And when finding out Emmitt Smith was making an appearance at the FC Dallas-sponsored fan event in Frisco before the watch party began, it was like, what the heck, not every day you're able to check in with a Hall of Fame running back. You know Emmitt, he'll have something to say about all this World Cup craze going on in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Of course, wanted to ask him about football, right? But what more can he say about Cowboys lead back Javonte Williams' performance this past season, and the fact the Cowboys saw fit to re-sign him to a three-year deal? What more can he say about Brian Schottenheimer starting his second season as head coach? What more can he say, although probably could say a lot since he went through a couple of protracted contract disputes with the Cowboys, about the George Pickens franchise tag?
So came up with this idea: Wonder if Emmitt realizes if he had not broken Walter Payton's NFL career rushing record 24 years ago – by the way, he shattered it (16,726 yards that stood from 1987 until Oct. 27, 2002) with his eventual career total of 18,355 yards (17,162 of those yards with the Cowboys) – that Payton, 39 years later, after breaking Jim Brown's rushing record (12,312) still would be the NFL's all-time leading rusher.
"Frank Gore probably would have gotten it," Emmitt said if he didn't.
Nope, after 16 seasons, Gore finished with 16,000 yards.
"Did he?" Emmitt asked rhetorically.
Told him Gore, in his last four seasons playing for four different teams, never rushed for more than 961 yards in a season before retiring after rushing for just 653 yards with the Jets in 2020 at the age of 37, considered ancient for a running back.
"Wow," Emmitt exclaimed.
Gore came up 727 yards short of Payton's mark.
"Did he really," was Emmitt's response.
And get this. While it's still Emmitt at 18,355, Payton at 16,726 and Gore at 16,000, the falloff to fourth goes to Barry Sanders at 15,269 and Adrian Peterson at 14,918. So look, only four players in the history of the NFL have ever finished with at least 15,000 career rushing yards.
To further put an exclamation mark on this, the next still-active running back comes in at 10th all-time, that being Derrick Henry at 13,018 after 10 seasons. And at age 32, Henry would need to gain at least 3,709 yards to overtake Payton, which would require averaging 927 yards for the next four seasons, although he has produced 1,000-yard seasons over the past four, along with a robust 1,595 for the Ravens in 2025.
But to surpass Emmitt? He'll need 5,338 more yards, and that means averaging 1,335 yards over the next four seasons. That's a ton at his advancing age, coupled with his physical style.
Basically needing to play 14 career seasons at a Pro Bowl production level.
And by the way, if you are wondering about just where the next active running backstands? Saquon Barkley comes in 44th at 8,356 yards after eight seasons. Heck, that is just 200 yards more than Herschel Walker in 46th.
As for Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, the Cowboys' second all-time leading rusher with 12,036 yards, he ranks 11th in NFL history. And get this: Of the NFL's top 17 leading rushers, only two are not yet in the Hall of Fame. Obviously, Henry is still playing, but also Gore at No. 3, a first-time eligible candidate in 2026 who didn't make the cut … yet.
So, Emmitt, going to be the all-time leader for all time after breaking Payton's record with that 11-yard, fourth-quarter run against the Seattle Seahawks at Texas Stadium?
"You know, Mick, like I talk about up here," Emmitt began, "God works in mysterious ways. You just don't know. … That's why we've got to celebrate moments instead of being too busy comparing this to that comparison.
"You're watching something that might not happen again in your lifetime, and if you don't appreciate whether it's LeBron (James) or whether it's (Michael) Jordan or whether it's Kobe (Bryant) – you won't see Kobe again, but you will remember Kobe – it's those things you need to stop comparing people to, and appreciate what just happens because it just might not happen again.
"It's been 24 years, as you stated, but I don't ever think about it."
Well, in this case, glad I did.
• What a Transformation: The Cowboys franchise worked hard and spent nearly $350 million turning AT&T Stadium into a FIFA-quality soccer venue renamed Dallas Stadium for the nine games played in Arlington, Texas, during the 2026 World Cup, which included theinstallation of a grass pitch, in the soccer vernacular. Those nine games, including Tuesday's semifinal, drew a total attendance of 631,843, creating a huge economic impact for Arlington and the entire DFW area. And why did the Cowboys go to such lengths to help bring these games to North Texas? Cowboys executive vice president of business operations Chad Estis said at a press conference earlier this week, "Quite honestly, if you just look at our local business, it's tough on our local business. Our suite-holders are displaced. Our sponsor signage is covered. And there's a bunch of other events that you could have instead of this. But you want to be a part of this. I think our stadium needed to be a part of it. We love what it showed to the world, and then, of course, as many people said here today, it was just phenomenal for the community. And at the end of the day, we're a part of this community, and we need to do our part for the community." Mission accomplished.
• Congrats Due: This one slipped by us, but Dallas Cowboys longtime director of film and video, the retired Robert Blackwell, was honored on June 25 with an NFL Excellence Award at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Blackwell spent 40 years with the Cowboys organization, the last 32 as director of video before retiring after the 2020 season. Not only that, Blackwell from 1988 had been the Cowboys' representative at the NFL Draft site, mostly in NewYork, bringing the team's selections up front to the stage. Blackwell is the fourth member of the Cowboys' organization to receive the Award of Excellence in Canton, joining previous longtime equipment manager the late William "Buck" Buchanan and former assistant coaches Ernie Zampese and Monte Kiffin.
• Snowed Under: Not sure even realized the Cowboys had signed defensive end Charles Snowden at the end of the mandatory minicamp on June 18, but a guy undrafted and having played just two games his rookie season for the Bears and then starting 18 of 31 games the past two years for Las Vegas sure is ignominiously making a name for himself as the NFL suspendedhim for the first three games of the 2026 season for a personal conduct violation stemming from a DUI charge in 2024. Snowden likely had no more than a 50-50 chance of making the final 53-man roster, and the suspension might lower that probability. If looking at pass rushers ranked ahead of Snowden entering training camp, which he will be eligible to participate in as well aspreseason games, there is Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, James Houston, Sam Williams, rookie LT Overton and likely first-round draft choice Malachi Lawrence, possibly Jaishawn Barham and Tyrus Wheat.
• Just Wondering: After a bit of extended time off and a couple of flights, made me think: What in the world did everyone do while sitting in the airport gate areas waiting to board flights without cell phones? Seriously, while walking around waiting for a flight at Boston Logan back to DFW, guarantee you 90 percent of the folks sitting at the various gates were on cell phones. Maybe back then reading a newspaper, although now in those convenience stores, not a Boston Herald to be seen.
• Off The Wall: There probably is a good chance, after being off since the end of the three-day minicamp on June 18, players will start trickling in on their own the beginning of next week, including members of the coaching staff, all getting the football itch before the charter flight to LAX the following Monday, July 27 … must officially report Tuesday, July 28, with the first of three required pad-less ramp-up practices scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, in Oxnard … Former Cowboys third quarterback Will Grier, who spent the 2025 season on the Cowboys'practice squad and then signed a free agent deal with Carolina this spring, has decided at age 31 to retire after playing in only two NFL games, both during his rookie year in 2019 with Carolina. He was considered a solid teammate with the Cowboys and valued in the QB room … And as if this is breaking news, today, Wednesday, July 15 at 3 p.m., was the deadline for a franchise player to sign a long-term deal, and so George Pickens – as we've known all along, probably since, like, two hours prior to the NFL Draft – will play for the guaranteed one-year $27.3 million tag … And one last out of my lane comment: Argentina, unbelievable.
If OK with you guys, for this week's last word, will go back to Emmitt since thought he had an interesting take on the World Cup with fans from all over the world infiltrating North Texas. Like the Netherlands' march behind the custom bus to the stadium, along with Norwegian fans pantomiming rowing a boat in the stands.
"I feel a connection to every one of those fans from around the world," Emmitt said while being interviewed during the Match Day Live broadcast prior to the FC Dallas watch party in Frisco for the France-Spain semifinal game in Arlington, before telling me this:
"I see this whole global stage as an opportunity for this world to come together, and it has come together in a lot of ways, and it's been beautiful to see. If we can get the political aspect out of our lives, I think we'll have a better world."
Well said by the NFL's all-time leading rusher, and who knows, maybe forevermore.
