The Dallas Cowboys introduced Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach on Monday. While Schottenheimer injected a semblance of confidence into fans with his calculated answers, Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones tarnished all of it in the hour-plus press conference.
Schottenheimer's promotion to head coach has received widespread backlash, both among Cowboys fans and the local and national media.
While Schottenheimer is a risky and comfortable hire all at the same time, the problem isn't so much that he's the new head coach. The issue was the Joneses farcical process that led Dallas to picking Schottenheimer.
They interviewed just three external candidates, one of whom was seemingly more considered for the defensive coordinator position in Robert Saleh, which has been filled, and one who was their offensive coordinator for four seasons in Kellen Moore.
It seems like months ago that Deion Sanders was linked to the now-former vacancy. Sanders was actually the first candidate mentioned with any sort of legitimacy, but Jones cleared the air on his conversation with Prime Time shortly after Monday's presser.
Jerry Jones never really considered Deion Sanders for Cowboys' head coaching job
"Just a conversation about the team, and about where he is, and his boys, conversation with his boys, that type of conversation,”Jones said about Sanders. “I’ve said I’ve talked to a lot of coaches, and Deion has a job."
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Reports hinted that Sanders would accept the Cowboys job if Jones offered it to him, but it never seemed realistic.
For starters, Sanders is under contract at Colorado and has stated repeatedly his commitment to the Buffaloes and love for the city of Boulder. While loyalty at the college level is unpredictable in today's day and age, Sanders' contract also includes a $8 million buyout as of Jan. 1.
Head coaches don't count against a team's salary cap, but Jones has been notoriously frugal when it coms to paying his head coaches. Mike McCarthy ranked in the bottom half of the league in salary during his tenure and odds are Schottenheimer is making even less.
There is no way to confirm, but the longer we got removed from Sanders being the first candidate linked to the Cowboys' job the more it seemed like a leverage play from the Hall of Famer.
Sanders is entrenched in contract extension negotiations with Colorado. It's possible he called up Jones, with whom he's really close, asking for a favor and Jones obliged knowing the rampant publicity that would ensue. It was a win-win for both parties.
ESPN's entire Monday Night Football halftime show during the Vikings-Lions game with the No. 1 seed in the NFC on the line revolved around Sanders and Mike McCarthy's dismissal. The coverage continued several days thereafter.
It was fun for a week to think about Sanders returning to the Cowboys' sideline. Many fans hoped Jones would swing for the fences in what could be his last head coaching hire, but Jerry proved long ago that he's unwilling to give up the spotlight.