Eagles Get Ex-Cowboy Linebacker

Darrin Smith, a four-year starter at outside linebacker with the Dallas Cowboys, agreed to a free-agent contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.

Smith, 27, worked out Friday for Eagle Coach Ray Rhodes and accepted a one-year deal worth $1.6 million.

He admitted that he originally thought he would be able to get a multiyear deal somewhere but realized he was caught in the salary cap squeeze.

Smith said he visited Houston and Cincinnati, and was closest to signing with the Bengals.

“We had a deal on the table, but their scheme called for me to play more inside linebacker,” he said. “I feel I’m more of an outside linebacker.”

A second-round draft choice out of Miami in 1993, Smith played on two Super Bowl teams, moving into the Cowboys’ starting lineup three games into his rookie season.

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Had Shawn Springs, the No. 3 overall pick, been taken by the Oakland Raiders with the No. 2 pick, it would have marked the third time teammates have been selected 1-2 in the draft.

In 1984, Nebraska’s Irving Fryar went No. 1 to New England and guard Dean Steinkuhler went second to Houston. In ‘67, Michigan State’s Bubba Smith went first to Baltimore and teammate Clint Jones was the No. 2 pick by Minnesota.

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Virginia, which was well-represented in the draft, had twin brothers Tiki and Ronde Barber chosen in the first 66 picks.

Tiki, a running back, went to the Giants with the 36th pick. Ronde, a cornerback was selected with No. 66 by Tampa Bay.

Two other brothers chosen were Virginia linebacker Jamie Sharper (Baltimore, No. 34) and William & Mary defensive back Darren Sharper (No. 60, Green Bay).

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As their coaches evaluated the talent pool in the draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers coped with a cesspool outside their offices.

The Steelers’ executive offices and some of their coaches’ offices were flooded last week by a broken sewer pipe that ruined carpets and left a stench throughout their Three Rivers Stadium complex.

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The state of Florida produced nine of the first 18 players taken in the draft--four from Florida State, three from Miami and two from the national champion Florida Gators.

“When you get a football player from one of those three schools, you’re going to get one of the better football players in the United States,” said Miami Dolphin Coach Jimmy Johnson, a former coach of the Hurricanes. “They’re all well-coached, and they’re all superb athletes.”

Since the 1983 draft, Miami leads all schools with 19 first-round picks. USC is second with 18 and Florida is third with 17.