Reading the tea leaves when one would rather be downing a cold one isn’t ideal, but it does look as if Jerry Jones just couldn’t fathom he failed to pull off a masterful gambit for the head coach position of his Dallas Cowboys. Jones had his staff walk through the 2024 season on egg shells, bringing back Mike McCarthy after an epic playoff failure, but allowing him and all his assistants to return on the final years of their deals.
Two weeks after the end of a disastrous 7-10 campaign, the search is just starting to organize itself. There are media rumors aplenty, including that Jones tried to make McCarthy sign a short deal, and/or pressured him to add coach-in-waiting Jason Witten to his staff. The rumors are centered around Jones assuming McCarthy would do anything to retain the coveted title of Cowboys head coach.
Thanks to everything seen out of Dallas over the last 30 years, those scenarios are relatively plausible.
So when McCarthy walked away last Monday, it was floated Jones had zero backup plan in place, and everything that happened last week was a scramble drill with a non-mobile QB directing the action. And that lack of planning lead to a quickly and widely publicized conversation with Deion Sanders that same Monday.
Many fans and media members scoffed; some at the idea of Sanders being a legitimate consideration, others at the idea Sanders could succeed at the job. But upon closer consideration, Sanders makes a ton of sense as the next head coach of the Cowboys. He’s proven, extremely quickly, to be a great CEO as he’s turned around both Jackson State and the Colarado Buffaloes in short order. Here’s five reasons to think that skill would translate to the NFL.
Jimmy Johnson Effect: College insight into prospects he recruited
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 30: Former head coach Jimmy Johnson looks on prior to the game between the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on December 30, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Jimmy Johnson is a legendary coach; a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor. This is due to winning back-to-back Lombardi trophies with the Cowboys; but Dallas wasn’t his only pro coaching stop. He also coached the Miami Dolphins for four seasons and though they made the playoffs his final three years, they weren’t a dominant team like his squads in Texas.
The difference could’ve been that when he took over the Cowboys, he was straight out the University of Miami, and he had a lengthy amount of insight in all of the young talent in the league and entering the first few drafts based on his recruiting at the University of Miami.
Sanders, who thanks to the transfer portal rules was able to get intel on not just high school recruits but current CFB players, would bring a similar amount of insight to the Cowboys during his first few drafts.
Would have the respect of Jerry Jones other coaches won’t
Nov 30, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders (right) talks with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
If there’s one thing we know about Jerry Jones, is that he has an affinity for his guys. Jones and company revere players who have helped the team make money; it’s how they approach big contracts (why outside free agents don’t get courted, they’ve never helped this org) and it makes sense the same thought process would extend to head coach.
It’s why Jason Garrett got 10 years and is considered family.
Also, Jones has two star Cowboys he can take credit for that prove (in his mind) he was as big a part of putting together the dynasty as Johnson; Charles Haley and Sanders. Haley was traded for, but Sanders was the marquee free agent signing in the league during those early years of its existence. Sanders is absolutely in Jones’ inner circle and it could (maybe, possibly) lead to a more hands-off approach from the meddlesome owner.
Cowboys, national media savvy
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 08: Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders speaks on SiriusXM at Super Bowl LVIII on February 08, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
One of the biggest concerns for Jones when it comes to hiring a coach, is being able to withstand the media circus that swirls around the position. That won’t be a problem for Sanders. He has his own TV talk show, has lived his entire career as a player as the center of attention, and thrives in the spotlight he craves.
In fact, Sanders is such an attention magnet, he’s one of the few people on planet earth who could potentially take some of the pressure off the Cowboys’ players during those tense moments. That was McCarthy’s biggest flaw, the team seemed nervous under the added pressure of the playoffs. It’s hard to see that being a thing under Sanders.
Sanders will have respect of his players as someone who did their job at its highest level
Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffalos head coach Deion Sanders against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
To put it succinctly, Sanders is Him. He’s the guy who can stand in front of a room full of millionaire athletes and tell them they aren’t as dope as they think they are. He’s the one head coach who can stand in front of Micah Parsons and have a heart-to-heart about what it’s like to be a generational talent.
He can stand in front of all of the players and tell them he lived and thrived under the Dallas spotlight. He didn’t stay under the radar and hide from the media. He sought them out. That’s a unique level of experience not many coaches can draw from.
Influence on Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, others
Apr 27, 2024; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during a spring game event at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
One of the biggest complaints about Sanders is that he’s a walk-around coach and would require both his offensive and defensive coordinators to develop schemes and call plays. But that doesn’t mean Sanders won’t coach.
His insight into the cornerback position would directly benefit the game of the Cowboys’ secondary, and having two young All-Pros? The amount of insight he could give to Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland would have the chance to be the best fusion of head coach and talent in Dallas in a very long time.
