Dallas Cowboys coaching search: Adam Schefter names darkhorse candidates, responds to Troy Aikman comments

With all the speculation about Deion Sanders potentially returning to Dallas as the next Cowboys head coach, hands-on owner/general manager Jerry Jones may have more options than previously known.

During a Friday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter name-dropped several off-the-radar options for the Dallas Cowboys head coaching vacancy that could allow Jones to take his time during the ongoing NFL coaching carousel.

In the process, Schefter also dispelled any notion the Cowboys is no longer an appealing coaching opportunity, as legendary former Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman implied last week.

“Oh, I think people would love to go coach the Dallas Cowboys. And by the way, … we also have within that organization, I think the Joneses has a pretty high opinion of Brian Schottenheimer, the offensive coordinator and I don’t think anybody’s interviewing him,” Schefter said Friday. “If they were in a spot, that’s another name you would look at. I can think of Anthony Lynn in Washington, I know a lot of people have showered attention on Kliff Kingsbury, but Anthony Lynn is in charge of Washington’s run game, has been a head coach and has worked for Jerry Jones before.

“So I think there are even more candidates in the background that haven’t been mentioned yet that gives Jerry a certain sense of comfort that he doesn’t have rush,” Schefter continued. “There are a group of people that he likes, respects, trusts, believes in, whether that’s Kellen Moore, or Robert Saleh, or Deion Sanders, or they go on and they consider guys like Brian Schottenheimer or Anthony Lynn. There are a lot of guys out there that fit the bill, and, yes, I think people would love to be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys — love to be.

“There are 32 head coaching jobs and there’s one job that’s the head of the circus in Dallas. And that’s what that is right now.”

Adam Schefter explains role Deion Sanders buyout could play in Dallas Cowboys pursuit

If Jerry Jones wants to hire Colorado’s Deion Sanders as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he’s going to have to pay up.

Not only will Jones have to dish out top dollar for an NFL head coach contract for Sanders, but he would have to cover the cost of Coach Prime‘s $8 million buyout with the Buffaloes. ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter isn’t convinced Jones would be thrilled about paying the buyout to hire Sanders.

“If Jerry wants to take a big swing and go for Deion, go pay the buyout — which again, I don’t think he’d be thrilled about doing — there are ways to navigate that,” Schefter said Friday on The Pat McAfee Show. “Maybe he has Netflix partner up with him to help take some of the cost. Not that Jerry can’t afford it or anything. But I don’t think that $10 million buyout is completely insignificant in this particular occasion. … Deion’s always there. Jerry Knows where to find him, Deion knows where to find Jerry.”

Now, that buyout is significantly lower than before. When Sanders first took over in Boulder, his buyout was $15 million. That figure dropped to $10 million at the start of 2024 and down to $8 million on Jan. 1.

Of course, the big question is whether Sanders is ready to make the jump to Dallas, where he played five seasons and won a Super Bowl in 1995. Former ESPN reporter Ed Werder suggested Sanders “would almost certainly accept” an offer from Jones.

Nick Geddes contributed to this report.