In one of the more puzzling debacles of the NFL head coaching carousel, the Dallas Cowboys and head coach Mike McCarthy decided to part ways. The timing is what took many off-guard, especially after denying the Chicago Bears the right to interview him. Now, Dallas must fill the void at head coach, and there are rumors of former Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders.
With plenty of great head coaching options currently up for grabs, is Deion Sanders the right man for the Dallas Cowboys head coach job?
Deion Sanders’ Early Coaching Success
Although Coach Prime doesn’t have the resume that most head coaching candidates in the NFL do, he certainly has done a solid job in the little time he’s coached. Sanders was at the high school level until 2020 when he was named the head coach at Jackson State University. With plenty of disruptions with COVID-19 and a shortened season, Sanders posted a 4-3 record.
In just his second season, Jackson State exploded, winning 11 games before falling in the Celebration Bowl to South Carolina State. The team’s success led to Coach Prime being named the top FCS coach that year. He would once again best himself the next season, flipping top recruit Travis Hunter from Florida State to Jackson State and finishing with a 12-1 record in the 2022 season.
His success led him to Colorado where Deion used the transfer portal to his benefit. After limping to a 4-8 record in his first season, Coach Prime once again outdid himself, leading the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record. While the team just missed out on the Big 12 Championship game, they did finish tied for first in the conference in a season they were projected to finish 11th.
Should the Dallas Cowboys Hire Coach Prime?
I’m going to come out and say it, I have been a part of the coalition that believes Deion Sanders is incredibly overrated. With that being said, it’s hard to argue that he’s been an incredibly successful coach who has done a great job at his last two college stops. However, Dallas is a tough market for players or coaches. The camera is always on and not everyone can handle that. If we know one thing about Deion Sanders, it’s that he can thrive in that Dallas spotlight.
It’s obvious that Sanders is a natural leader and that plenty of college athletes love to play for him. He is quite the charismatic guy and he knows what it takes to be a leader of a team. While he may not have a bulletproof resume, neither do other top NFL head coaching candidates like Ben Johnson or Aaron Glenn. Johnson has only been an offensive coordinator for a little over two years while Glenn has only been a head position coach or coordinator since 2016.
With so many unproven options in the coaching carousel and the additional headache of finding one that can flourish with an already solid roster and a massive spotlight on them at all times, Deion Sanders does appear to be the right guy for Dallas. He has the pedigree, and we know he can get along with Jerry Jones. While Jones will still be a headache for any coach as long as he is proactive with the team, it’s probable Deion would be the most likely to get Jones to back off to an extent and let him work. While the Cowboys have a lot of questions to answer this offseason, hiring Deion Sanders as head coach would answer at least one of them.
