Could Deion Sanders be the Dallas Cowboys’ next head coach?
The former Cowboys legend appears to be happy in Colorado, but could he be tempted to take the now-open post in Dallas? franchise owner Jerry Jones hopes so.
While it’s clear that ‘Coach Prime’ is comfortable in Colorado where he coaches his sons, what is also clear is that the Cowboys’ owner has already spoken with him about the possibility of taking up the HC post that is now vacant.
Jerry Jones spoke with Deion Sanders about coaching the Cowboys
Following the surprise dismissal of Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy on Monday, attention quickly turned to the question of who could potentially replace him. According to reports, it could in fact be a former Cowboys icon. Indeed, multiple reports now indicate that Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones reached out to former Cowboys Super Bowl champion cornerback and current Colorado Buffalos head football coach Deion Sanders about the job.
To be clear, there has been no formal interview, however, CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported that Jones and Sanders will stay in touch about the opening. Further to that, Sanders himself acknowledged that he had been in contact with Jones regarding the open post. “To hear from Jerry Jones is truly delightful, and it’s intriguing,” Sanders told ESPN Monday night. “I love Jerry and believe in Jerry. After you hang up, and process it, and think about it, it’s intriguing. But I love Boulder and everything there is about our team, the coaches, our student body, and the community.”
Sanders was of course part of Dallas’ last Super Bowl championship team back in 1995 and earned both Pro Bowl and All-Pro accolades in four of his five seasons with the Cowboys. Mike Zimmer, Dallas’ defensive coordinator for the 2024 season, was Sanders’ defensive backs coach in all five of those seasons (1995-1999), and still maintains a close friendship with Sander which is worth noting when you consider the comments he made last November. “Deion and I are obviously really good friends, and we talk weekly probably, but I’m not going to speculate on any jobs or anything like that because I don’t think that’s right,” Zimmer said at the time. “I know that he’s told me many times that he’s really happy at Colorado. He likes it there. Obviously, they’ve done a great job. Trying to watch his games each and every week that I can to give him some tidbits and go from there.”
To hear Zimmer tell it, it’s not likely that Sanders is going to leave his current day job in Colorado. Even more so when you consider that Sanders has already stated that the only way he’d coach in the NFL is if he’s coaching his sons. On the other hand, stranger things have happened. Where his sons are concerned, quarterback Shedeur Sanders is currently ranked as the No. 2 prospect at the quarterback position in the 2025 NFL Draft, while his son Shilo Sanders, a safety, will have the opportunity to raise his draft stock at the end of the month when he plays in the East-West Shrine Bowl. As for the Cowboys, it would be a stretch for the team to acquire Shedeur Sanders as they currently possess the 12th overall pick for the coming NFL Draft. There is also the question of current Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott who recently signed a four-year, $240 million extension. That’s to say the Cowboys would incur a $103.2 million dead cap hit, something that Jones abhors. At this point, Sanders to Dallas looks unlikely, but again, stranger things have happened.