Stephen A. Smith wants Rex Ryan fixing the Cowboys' defense

ESPN's fast-starting First Take Short turns a Dallas defeat into a demand that Jerry Jones make a coaching call.

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ESPN Story of November 3, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 187,790 views a day, 22 times a normal first day on this channel (8,346).

Stephen A. did NOT hold back on the Cowboys 🗣️

Jerry Jones should pick up the phone and call ESPN, Stephen A. Smith argues. Not to arrange an interview, but to hire Rex Ryan as the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator.

That is the concrete proposal inside a furious First Take reaction to Dallas' overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Michael Irvin and Dan Orlovsky listen on a split screen as Smith directs his criticism at the owner and a culture he considers far too comfortable.

"They too damn comfortable in Big D," Smith says. An on-screen statistic gives his defensive concerns some context: Dallas has allowed at least twenty points in fifteen straight games, identified as the longest such streak in franchise history.

The Short has drawn about 133,000 views in its opening thirteen hours, already far beyond ESPN's usual full-day audience for the format. The comments are also more than twelve times as numerous as on a typical first day. Viewers return to Smith's familiar warnings about Dallas, while several self-described Cowboys supporters say they agree with his criticism.

This is not an isolated burst of Cowboys talk. ESPN's longer First Take discussion and Ryan's own Get Up reaction to the Cardinals loss are both drawing unusually large early audiences for regular videos. Ryan is simultaneously the pundit assessing the damage and the candidate Smith wants brought in to repair it.

Smith finishes by imitating reassuring postgame explanations, then cutting them off with a shouted "Shut up!" His proposed alternative to another explanation is a new defensive coordinator.

Published on Trari

Where next?

Also in American sports leagues and mediaVideo taking off 13x its usual first dayMcFadden picks Bears as Prisco and Douzable back SeattleCBS Sports' fast-starting Monday Night Football preview weighs Chicago's creative rushing attack against Seattle's defensive versatility.Channel: CBS Sports · Story of November 3, 2026

A different discovery todayVideo taking off 12x its usual first dayFrom "please don't leave" to "ask Grok": John Oliver's midterm tourThe election-week main story drew about 3.8 million views in under a day, and its comment section filled more than twice as fast as usual.Channel: LastWeekTonight · Story of November 3, 2026

What viewers say

As a life-long Cowboy fan, I hate to say it, but Stephen A is correct!
@rfadalSee it on YouTube
Like clock work💯Lets go Stephen A. Smith, I have to tune in when he comments on the Cowboys😂😂😂.
@rjharvey3408See it on YouTube
*"What can go wrong, WILL GO WRONG!"*
@aggressiveattitudeera887See it on YouTube

1 more comment

Cowboys fan here. Stephen 100% right.
@coletonbilek3954See it on YouTube

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The facts

Channel: ESPN
Subscribers: 14,600,000
Channel views, last 7 days: 28,317,484
Channel views, pace per day: 1,301,366 (on a normal day: 4,601,660)
Video published: November 2, 2026
Video views so far: 133,371 (less than a day online)
Video views, pace per day: 187,790

The numbers

The Cowboys reaction is drawing unusually large early audiences across ESPN's Shorts and longer discussions. Each format is compared with its own usual start below.

the video's first day

usual first day here

8,346

this video

187,790

subscribers

14,600,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

20,908,184,085

views per day

1,301,366