Deion Sanders admits NFL interest was completely unrealistic

We all knew Colorado head coach Deion Sanders wasn't going to be leading any NFL team next season. Anybody who fell for the bait Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones put out in the form of "discussions" with Sanders about his team's vacancy last month were kidding themselves.

Sanders himself finally admitted what we all suspected, he never had any desire to leave Colorado this offseason. On Tuesday, Sanders was speaking with his old teammate from his time in Dallas — Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman — on Sanders' Tubi show We Got Time Today (h/t USA Today) and reminisced about how much tougher players had it in their era compared to now.

"I couldn’t coach pro ball," he said, claiming players today have less of a work ethic than in previous years.

"That’s why I say, I couldn’t coach … I know it was cute, but I couldn’t coach pro ball, because the way they practice, the way they go about it, I couldn’t take it, as a man, and as a football enthusiast, and I care about the game," Sanders continued.

'I know it was cute': Deion Sanders admits he had no intention of coaching in the NFL

A lot was made of the discussions between Sanders and Jones surrounding the Cowboys head coaching vacancy. In the end, he never got a formal interview.

That development ruffled a few feathers in Dallas' alumni royalty. Aikman felt Sanders would've been a "really good fit" and his potential hiring "would make a lot of sense."

"For Dallas, Deion would have been a really good fit because he would have commanded the room, and his personality is such that people would have known that he was in charge,” Aikman said on Tuesday's show. “And I think that’s important for any organization to know that the head coach is the one who’s calling the shots and that he’s in charge."

But despite that, Sanders knew it wasn't going to happen whether from Jones' side or his own. He even admitted the charade was "cute" but ultimately it was nothing more than hot air from both sides.

Sanders will now prepare for life at Colorado without his son Shedeur under center, expected to be a high pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. Deion has made it known previously that the only pro job he'd take would be one where he coaches his youngest sons.

Unless Shedeur and Shilo are drafted to the same team and that head coaching job suddenly becomes available, don't expect Coach Prime to return to the NFL any time soon.