(Photo credit: Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, who played 13 of his 15 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, said he would consider taking over as the head of the NFL Players Association, Front Office Sports reported Wednesday.

NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. resigned in July, one month after a series of controversies were revealed, including a reported conflict of interest and a decision to hide key parts of an arbitration ruling from the players.

Howell was replaced by former player J.C. Tretter, the NFLPA's chief strategy officer, but he also stepped down.

Labor executive David White has been in charge of the NFLPA on an interim basis.

Smith, 56, said there are a number of ways the players should be protecting themselves when it comes to the business side of the NFL.

'But see, oftentimes, it's like anything else that you see in the U.S., you divide and conquer,' Smith told Front Office Sports. 'You keep people divided, then you can always manipulate one of the sides. And the one to the sides that's always getting manipulated is the talent side, not the ownership side.'

Other prospective candidates to run the NFLPA, according to the report, are former players Matt Schaub and Darrelle Revis.

Smith, who also played two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, holds NFL records for total rushing yards (18,355), career rushing touchdowns (164) and total rushing attempts (4,409). In 1993, Smith helped the Cowboys to the Super Bowl title while winning the MVP, the rushing title and the Super Bowl MVP.

Smith and former wide receiver Jerry Rice are the only two non-kickers to score more than 1,000 career points.

--Field Level Media