Dallas Cowboys insider: Deion Sanders ‘was never a serious candidate’ to be head coach

On Friday, the Dallas Cowboys promoted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach, replacing Mike McCarthy. While the Cowboys ultimately hired internally, there was no shortage of rumors swirling about outside options vying for the job.

One of those outside options was Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. On Monday, The Athletic‘s Jon Machota pulled back the curtain on the reality of the Cowboys’ interest in Coach Prime.

“Deion Sanders was never a serious candidate to be the Cowboys’ next coach,” Machota wrote.

FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz first reported that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had talked with Sanders about the head coach opening on Jan. 13. The buzz around the potential match only continued to grow until the Cowboys opted to go a different route.

Nonetheless, most reports at the time seemed to assert that Sanders was a legitimate option in Jones’ eyes. Perhaps most notably, WFAA’s Ed Werder reported that both Sanders and Jones were extremely interested in the idea.

“I’m being told that he would almost certainly accept if Jerry Jones offers to make him the next #Cowboys head coach, that those around him are encouraging him to pursue it and that Jones is enamored with the idea,” Werder wrote.

Now, fans can look forward to Sanders being back on the Colorado sideline next season. The 57-year-old head coach had a standout year at the helm of the Buffaloes this past season.

Colorado finished with a 9-3 record and a 7-2 mark in conference play. The Buffaloes were even in the race for a spot in the College Football Playoff until they fell in upset fashion to Kansas in Week 13.

Sanders will have plenty of work to do this offseason. His son and Colorado’s starting quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, along with Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter are moving on to the NFL this offseason.

With the pair gone, Colorado will be in rebuild mode. Alas, Deion Sanders hasn’t sat back on his laurels. In fact, Colorado has already added 17 players, via the NCAA Transfer Portal.

The transfer class is highlighted by former Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter, who was the No. 12 QB in the portal, according to On3’s 2025 Transfer Portal Player Rankings. Now, Colorado will have eight months to put together its new pieces as the team prepares for Deion Sanders’ third season at the helm.