Michael Irvin sparked a reaction on ESPN after making a controversial joke about his late mother while delivering a furious criticism of the Dallas Cowboys' coaching staff.

The Cowboys suffered a 33-30 overtime defeat to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday after their defense faltered late in the game. The loss leaves Dallas with a 3-5 record, although their playoff hopes remain alive amid the wider struggles in the NFC East.

The Cowboys looked to be in control with 14 minutes and 20 seconds remaining, leading 24-10 after Dak Prescott scored a five-yard rushing touchdown. However, their advantage slipped away as they became the first NFL team this season to lose a game after holding a lead of at least 14 points in the fourth quarter.

The fourth-quarter collapse has prompted widespread criticism of Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer. Now in his second season in charge, Schottenheimer has a 10-14-1 record with Dallas. Unless the Cowboys can turn their season around quickly, they risk missing the playoffs for a third consecutive year.

Cowboys legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Irvin has joined the criticism of the team's coaching staff, delivering a passionate assessment during an appearance on ESPN's First Take on Monday.

“There is no such thing as lower than this, or worse than this, or not as good as this. They are the worst.” Irvin said. ”My dead mom can coach them better." Host Shae Cornette appeared visibly uncomfortable following the remark.

Irvin’s comments came after Stephen A. Smith proposed that the Cowboys hire ESPN analyst and former NFL head coach Rex Ryan.

“If I’m Jerry Jones, I call ESPN right now trying to pluck Rex Ryan from this job to get him on the sideline this damn weekend.” Smith said. “I promise you, with four days preparation, that man will do a better job than what the hell we’ve seen the Dallas Cowboys doing all season long.”

However, the Cowyboys owner has no intention of making changes to the coaching staff, instead defending head coach Brian Schottenheimer and insisting that others had let him down.

“Well, I will say that a lot of people let Brian down today. So for whatever criticism we want to have with Brian, we can all get in line,” Jones told reporters.

“And that was a total team loss, to use a cliche. That was a total team effort out there for us. And we have to be better for our fans. We have to be better than that when we got our hands on the win and then dropped the ball.”

The 84-year-old also referenced his previous decision to dismiss Wade Phillips midway through the 2010 season, making clear he does not intend to repeat that move with Schottenheimer.

“I made a change and I don't want to mention it because I'm not proud of it. But I made a change with Wade Phillips there in the middle of the season, and I don't see that here,” he added.