Jerry Jones pressed on if he would hire Deion Sanders as a head coach

Before “Coach Prime” was roaming the sidelines at Jackson State and Colorado, Deion Sanders was an NFL star. “Prime Time” was must-see TV during his Hall of Fame career, and he put together an impressive four-year stretch with the Dallas Cowboys at his peak.

Sanders was a three-time First Team All-Pro selection with the Cowboys while making four Pro Bowl appearances. He developed a relationship with Jerry Jones, and that bond is still strong nearly 30 years after his introductory press conference.

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That relationship is why a crazy idea has been thrown around as Mike McCarthy enters the final year of his contract. Could Jones hire Sanders as the Dallas’ next head coach? Stephen A. Smith asked that during his interview with the Cowboys owner, and Jones knew better than to answer it.

“No, but he does know how to spell well enough and not answer a hypothetical question,” Jones said with a laugh. “First of all, you are familiar with our … ‘love affair’ that we have. I have always admired him, both on and off the field. Some of the best stories that I have to tell about my time in sports have been Deion-type stories with Deion and Michael [Irvin] and those guys.

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Sanders started working up the college coaching ranks at Jackson State from 2020-22, where he led the Tigers to a 27-6 overall record and a 19-2 mark in SWAC play. But in 2023, he left to become the next head coach at Colorado. His son Shedeur and two-way star Travis Hunter joined him in Boulder, where they’re making cases for the Heisman Trophy.

Sanders has made his stance clear on coaching in the NFL – or, rather, not doing so. He also said he doesn’t plan on leaving Colorado after his kids leave.

But Jerry Jones acknowledged the relationship he has with Deion Sanders. That relationship started in 1995 when they first joined forces.

“Deion, I remember the one [story] that I love the most is he came in to sign his big contract,” Jones told Smith. “$12 million bonus at the time. I had put a total cash out of my cash $12 million down to buy the Cowboys. … Before I gave that to Deion Sanders, I went back to my hometown – Little Rock, Rose City, North Little Rock – and I walked down my old street. And I walked down when that quarter and that dollar used to be everything. Walked down there and saw some old chips on a tree and on a telephone pole that I’d knocked out. I turned around and walked back because I wondered, had something gotten over me? Had I completely lost it to be paying a man a $12 million bonus to do it?

“I walked by my old house, went back over, got on that plane. ‘That was then, this is now. I’m going for it.’ Went over, met Deion at the stadium. Never forget, came in, great to see him. The whole time we were waiting to go on stage and announce that he was gonna be a Cowboy, he spent playing with that boy. And all he could pay attention to – he had all these people around – it was that boy. I said, that’s the heart I want to be around, right there.”