Former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith had one of the most decorated careers in NFL history, but he failed to check one goal off his list.
Emmitt Smith is the NFL’s all-time rushing leader. He won three Super Bowls in the 1990s as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. He was named NFL MVP, reached eight Pro Bowls and was named a First-Team All-Pro four times despite playing in a golden age for his position.
Smith, after playing 15 years with Dallas and the Arizona Cardinals, was unsurprisingly named a first-ballot Hall of Famer. And yet, there’s one goal Smith didn’t achieve, although he’s not sure he’d change anything.
“No, I didn’t not check off every single box,” Smith told FanSided in an exclusive interview. “The one thing I wanted to do, that I’m glad I did not do, was rush for over 2,000 yards in one season. After 2,000 yards, it’s all downhill from that point on.”
Smith also spoke about the modern game, and the changes he sees since he retired 17 years ago. With the sport changes practice allowances and increasingly protecting quarterbacks, Smith sees a worse brand of football.
You can hear Smith’s answer on that and much more in the video above.
Finally, Smith joined FanSided as part of a campaign with Bounty, as the paper towel giant is working to help football fans keep themselves clean at parties with wings, pizza and much more.