Deion Sanders‘ unexpected success at the University of Colorado has prompted significant speculation that Coach Prime could leave what he has built with the Buffaloes and make a dramatic return to the NFL — perhaps as the head coach of his beloved Dallas Cowboys, one of pro football’s most iconic franchises.
The Cowboys job has opened following the departure of head coach Mike McCarthy, whose contract expired on Jan. 14. Team owner Jerry Jones has indicated that he is planning an exhaustive search to identify and hire the franchise’s 10th head coach since its founding in 1960, but reports have said that Jones and Sanders have discussed the Dallas job — sparking talk that Deion‘s move back to Dallas may be imminent.
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Coaching staff size could be the decisive factor
NFL insider Jane Slater has poured some cold water on the escalating chatter surrounding Sanders’ candidacy for the Cowboys job — and not just because Dallas is unlikely to recruit his son Shedeur, who is expected to be one of the first players taken in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Speaking on NFL Network, Slater explained that a stumbling block for Sanders might be the size of his coaching staff at Colorado. Reportedly, Jones is not keen on bringing over each member of a coaching staff that led the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record in 2024 and worked with Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
“Will Jerry allow him to bring all of those (coaches to Dallas)? Mike McCarthy was asked to reduce his staff, and Jerry is not very high on paying his coaches here,” Slater explained.
In addition, Jones would have to pay at least $10 million to release Sanders from his Colorado contract — which is not an appetizing thought given Prime‘s reluctance to leave the school. For months, Sanders has insisted he would leave for the NFL only if he had the opportunity to coach Shedeur and his other draft-eligible son, Shilo Sanders. Unless that stance changes in the coming weeks, a holding pattern will remain between Jones and his former star cornerback, who was on the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl-winning roster in 1995.