The NFL world went into a frenzy on Monday night when multiple reporters confirmed that the Dallas Cowboys had spoken with Colorado head coach Deion Sanders about their head coaching vacancy.
The Cowboys’ post became vacant early Monday after Jerry Jones was unable to reach an agreement with Mike McCarthy, who has coached the team for the past five seasons. With McCarthy in the rearview mirror, Jones called up Sanders. Sanders spent five stellar seasons with the Cowboys as a player in the late 1990s.
“It’s really nice and interesting to hear from Jerry Jones,” Sanders told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday night. “I love Jerry and I believe in Jerry. When I get off the phone and process and think about it, it’s interesting. But I love Boulder and our team, our coaches, our students. I love the organization and everything about the community.”
Sanders has coached the Buffaloes for the past two seasons after a successful career as head coach at Jackson State University. To his credit, he transformed the University of Colorado from the laughingstock of college football to a bowl-caliber program.
But without the luxury of star quarterback son Shedule Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, both of whom could be drafted in the top five of the NFL draft, it’s likely that Coach Prime will take Boulder sooner rather than later. There is constant speculation that he might leave.
Back in November, when rumors started flying about Prime’s NFL interest, he assured everyone that his “kickstand is broken,” indicating he was happy with life in Boulder.
But what was he supposed to say? At that point, the Buffaloes were ranked in the thick of the Big 12 Championship and had even advanced to the new 12-team College Football Playoff.
Now that the dust has settled, it’s clear that Sanders at least listened to Jones’ call about coaching the Cowboys. But here’s the kicker. If that happens, what awaits us will be a disaster.
Jones refuses to get out of his own way. Every season he somehow one-ups himself from the last stupid thing he did. Lose McCarthy because he cannot agree to the terms. “” is the latest example, coming on the heels of a public contract dispute between quarterback Dak Prescott and star wideout CeeDee Lamb.
Mr. Sanders and Mr. Jones may now have great respect for each other. Some might call it friendship. Sanders is a legend who played in Jones’ organization. There’s obviously a lot of admiration for each other between the two of you, but it’s completely different when you have to work with someone every day.
Jones will call the shots in Dallas. That’s just the way it is. Unless he has some kind of epiphany, this will likely continue next season and for years to come.
Prime always had an ego of his own, and to his credit, it actually served him very well throughout his playing days.
When Sanders came up while addressing his team in Colorado, many pundits scoffed, saying: “He’s bringing his own luggage, and it’s Louis Vuitton.” He hinted that he would be fit to enter the transfer portal as he would be bringing his own players.
He brought his own players and it worked. It worked because he did it his way. Less than a year after signing with the Buffaloes, Sanders removed offensive coordinator Sean Lewis from the program and replaced him with Pat Shurmur. That apparently worked too.
There’s no way to know if Sanders will be a good NFL coach. Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011, the player played at the highest level for many years. He has had almost instant success wherever he has gone in college.
The professional game is different. Especially when you’re dealing with Jerry Jones, who just wants things his way. It would be fun to see if he could coach in the NFL anytime soon, but not here.
