Deion Sanders definitely didn’t say no to replacing Mike McCarthy with Cowboys

Few things are more powerful in professional sports than money. Owners are always looking to maximize profit at the end of the day, and there are a couple avenues to achieving that goal. One is to win, and win often. The other is to drive attendance, viewership, and merchandise sales through star-power.

More often than not, both methods go hand-in-hand. The best teams have the best players, who drive the most merch sales and drum up the highest viewership. That said, we are sometimes treated to an outlier — a star who captivates the nation in ways that transcend success or simple on-field dominance.

More rare is a "star" coach who drives spectatorship and spends ages in the yearly media cycle. And yet, that is precisely what Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders has accomplished in Boulder. For better or worse, he has become one of the most consistent headline generators in the college football realm. Now his team is winning, which could lead to blue-chip programs circling the Buffs like vultures.

That said, what if Deion left college altogether to join his son Shedeur in the NFL next season? It's a concept that has been thrown around with increasing seriousness in recent weeks. It's hard to earnestly imagine Sanders patrolling an NFL sideline next season, but stranger things have happened, and less qualified coaches have seen their number called.

When asked by former teammate Michael Irvin about potentially coaching the Dallas Cowboys next season, Sanders made sure to avoid the word "no."

Deion Sanders does not slam the door on potentially coaching Cowboys in 2025

It's clear that Deion Sanders is focused on the task at hand in Boulder, and he clearly enjoys the perks of coaching a winning team in the beautiful Rocky mountains. That said... saying "I love where I am" and walking out of your internet's reach is not exactly a rebuke of the concept. Irvin and Sanders spent several successful seasons together in Dallas. Sanders has a Cowboys Super Bowl ring sitting at home. He knows what it means to win on "America's team," and if any owner is bold enough to consider taking on Deion and all the subsequent headaches, it is Jerry Jones.

Should the Cowboys replace Mike McCarthy with Deion Sanders? That is, um, up for debate. McCarthy's leash has been getting shorter for a while, but Sanders is completely unproven as an NFL coach. He's barely proven as a college coach, with only one winning D-I season under his belt. The Buffs are a great story, but Sanders has earned more than his share of negative headlines with his befuddling treatment of the media and of his own players.

Sanders brings all-world defensive pedigree and a real competitive fire to the Cowboys, in theory. He knows the organization well and he should bring a fresh perspective, if not much else. Dallas could use a new voice and few command the locker room quite like Sanders. Whether or not his method of coaching, which often involves tossing unproductive players under the bus and telling them to transfer, can work in the NFL is another story.

It's also worth wondering if Sanders would go to the NFL if it doesn't mean a chance to coach his son. The Cowboys just handed Dak Prescott $240 million. Shedeur Sanders is going to a stinky team in the NFL basement. Is Sanders willing to coach against his son. What if Shedeur ends up with the Giants and Deion is coaching the Cowboys? That's almost a conflict of interest.

This probably won't happen. It shouldn't. But, with Jerry Jones, we can never rule out the most severely controversial decision.