NFL rumors: Deion Sanders-to-Cowboys buzz splashed with cold water
11/14/2024 12:20 PM
With nearly half of the month of November gone, it’s officially the time of the year where the coaching carousel is running at full speed, and one of the teams whose potential participation will be discussed at length is the Dallas Cowboys. Though the Cowboys have yet to make any move that indicates they’ll be in the mix for a new head coach come January, the writing appears to be on the wall… Dallas is 3-6, and somebody needs to be the fall guy.
The fall guy will likely end up being Mike McCarthy, who has been on the hot seat for the better part of a year. Following an embarrassing, if not predictable collapse in the Wild Card Round of the Playoffs last year, the 18-year veteran has been coaching on borrowed time. With there being no path to contention this year, it may not be long until Dallas is in business for a new head coach. But who will that new head coach be?
In the past, there have been rumors regarding Jerry Jones’ interest in Lincoln Riley, who prior to a struggle at USC was one of the hottest names in coaching circles at Oklahoma. Going back over three decades, Jones grabbed from the college ranks when he hired Jimmy Johnson away from the University of Miami. Five years later, Johnson was replaced by former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Barry Switzer.
But before we assume history will soon repeat itself, NFL insider Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated notes that we shouldn’t necessarily expect to see any notable college coaches making the jump to the NFL this cycle.
“There are college coaches who desperately want to come to the NFL, but I do not see there being an appetite for college coaches at the NFL level—despite the success of Jim Harbaugh with the Chargers this year,” writes Orr. Orr noted that the buzz regarding Deion Sanders making the jump to the NFL to coach the Dallas Cowboys was nothing more than speculation.
“I have not been alerted to any seriousness regarding a Deion Sanders and Jerry Jones reunion,” Orr stated in his column.
Deion Sanders played in Dallas from 1995 to 1999 after Jerry Jones made him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. He was named an All-Pro four times in those five seasons and was an integral part of the last Cowboys team to win a Super Bowl.
Given Coach Prime’s profile, the popularity of the Dallas Cowboys, the previous marriage between these two respective brands, and the speculation that current Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy will soon be on his way out, it makes sense that there would be rumors regarding a potential reunion. But in all honesty, it feels like a Deion Sanders-Florida State reunion would be more likely.
Mike McCarthy’s days as Dallas Cowboys head coach are numbered
Assuming Jerry Jones relieves Mike McCarthy of his duties at season’s end, if not sooner, then it means that by default, the Cowboys will be one of the most attractive jobs for any coaching candidates out there. If Deion Sanders has interest, there will surely be a meeting between he and Jerry Jones. But don’t count out a couple of big name options who already have coaching experience in the NFL.
Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel will be two of the first names mentioned, as should be. There’s already been some dispute as to whether Belichick and Jones would be a successful partnership. Vrabel feels like a more likely candidate, and with all due respect to Belichick, a better one at this point in time.
The name I wouldn’t rule out in a hypothetical coaching search is Kliff Kingsbury. Kingsbury is a San Antonio, Texas native and has played and coached in the state of Texas at the college level. After a rough tenure as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, Kingsbury has restored his reputation in half a season as the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders.
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