With new Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer on shaky ground entering his first season in charge of the team, fans who want a coach that can bring some spice to the franchise have been begging Jerry Jones to hire franchise legend Deion Sanders.
Sanders, who just wrapped up a stint coaching his son and top NFL quarterback prospect Shedeur Sanders at Colorado, has repeatedly said that he has no interest in moving to the professional ranks unless he is given the opportunity to work with Shedeur at some point.
However, given Jones' penchant for big splashes over his career, fans aren't giving up hope that this could become a reality. At least...it could have become a reality before Buffaloes athletic director Rick George swooped in to make Sanders one of the highest-paid coaches in the country.
Colorado has agreed to a new five-year contract with Sanders that will double his previous salary. Sanders is staying with the Buffaloes on a $54 million deal that will end with him getting paid $12 million at the end of the 2029 season. Deion is staying in Boulder, much to the chagrin of some Cowboys fans.
Cowboys' Deion Sanders rumors over after Colorado gives him five-year contract
After winning the SWAC with Jackson State, Sanders took over a lackluster Colorado team that had only one win the year he arrived. Sanders, through a combination of smart coaching and recruiting, led the team to eight wins on the strength of Sheduer and Heisman winner Travis Hunter.
Sanders, who put the Buffaloes in a position to succeed without his son and Hunter after landing multiple top quarterback recruits, has earned a reputation as a program builder who can change the culture overnight. A Cowboys team in need of a system shock could benefit from someone like Sanders coming to town.
Instead, Dallas will need to make peace with the fact that Schottenheimer, who the Cowboys famously hired late on a Friday night to avoid maximum media scrutiny, will need to find a way to compete in a division that has two Super Bowl contenders in Philadelphia and Washington. Less than ideal doesn't begin to describe this.
If Schottenheimer ends up struggling in his first season running the show, and Sanders is able to keep a program like Colorado in the national zeitgeist, Jones may have some regret over not pursuing Sanders harder and making him an offer he could not have refused.