Mind-blowing Cowboys stat shows Jerry Jones wasted Tyron Smith's legendary career

A changing of the guard was a long time coming, but it is still bittersweet that the Dallas Cowboys have now said goodbye to Zack Martin and Tyron Smith within months of each other.

Martin announced his retirement shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 season. Now, the Cowboys will hold press conference for Smith at The Star on Wednesday afternoon. Smith is set to sign a one-day contract with Dallas and retire as one of the franchise's all-time great players.

It's no secret that age got the best of Smith and Martin in their final seasons. Smith was extremely hampered by injuries throughout the backend of his career. However, they are two of the best offensive lineman of their generation and two of the best to ever do it at their respective positions.

And yet, the Cowboys hardly sniffed success during the Smith and Martin era.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones completely wasted having Tyron Smith and Zack Martin

With Smith and Martin anchoring the offensive line, one would think the Cowboys would have enjoyed some semblance of success during their playing careers.

It is obviously wildly difficult to win a Super Bowl, but sustained deep playoff runs, with potentially a Super Bowl appearance sprinkled in one year, should be the bare minimum expectation with two Hall of Famers on the same offensive line.

And yet, Dallas never one more than one playoff game in any season. They never advanced beyond the Divisional Round in any of Smith and Martin's 10 (!) seasons together. They made the playoffs in just three of Jason Garrett's six seasons in charge with Smith and Martin on the team. Mike McCarthy took the team to the playoffs in three of his four years coaching the all-time duo.

There are many factors beyond coaching that can explain Dallas' 30-year NFC Championship Game drought. But the one common denominator is Jerry Jones.

The Cowboys have had some incredibly talented teams during this drought. The 2014 team that finished 13-3 in the regular season sticks out. They won 13 games again in Dak Prescott's rookie year. They lost in heartbreaking both times to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

The team itself has capitulated in the playoffs on multiple occasions, but it all goes back to Jones' frugal nature and refusal to adapt to the times.

This is (somehow) still an organization that isn't proactive with contract extensions only to turn around and throw those players under the bus for handicapping them financially. This team still pinches pennies in free agency, refuses to pay a premium for head coaches and relies almost exclusively on the draft to offset player departures.

Can you recall a single time Dallas was all-in during Smith and Martin's careers? You can't, because Jones doesn't do that, regardless of the talent at his disposal.

Again, there are myriad reasons why the Cowboys haven't been to an NFC title game since their last Super Bowl win in 1995. Jones' ownership is No. 1 on that list.