The Dallas Cowboys spent the early weeks of January 2025 searching for a head coach after parting ways with Mike McCarthy following a 7-10 season. There were also rumors about Deion Sanders being interested in becoming the new head coach of the Cowboys.
Sanders, who was fresh off leading Colorado to a 9-4 season that produced Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, seemed like a splashy fit for a franchise that craves star power. The Cowboys ultimately hired Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach while Sanders returned to Boulder for a third season with the Buffaloes.
Deion Sanders Puts NFL Coaching Rumors to Rest
In a recent interview with Front Office Sports, Sanders was asked directly about rumors linking him to the Cowboys job and whether he had a genuine interest.
“They weren’t real at all,” Sanders said about the rumors. “I like playing the pro game, but I wouldn’t enjoy coaching the pro game.”
“It’s a different game,” he added, “I’m focused on winning and getting these kids through college so they have degrees, and they’re able to attain tremendous professions even after football is over. But I have no thought process of the NFL whatsoever.”
Sanders transitioned into coaching at Jackson State in 2020, turning the Tigers into an HBCU powerhouse before taking the Colorado job in 2023. His second season in Boulder produced the program’s best record in years, but 2025 proved far more difficult. With Shedeur, Hunter, and several other key contributors departing for the NFL, Colorado managed just three wins.
Sanders has overhauled his coaching staff heading into 2026, bringing in new coordinators on both sides of the ball and adding 42 transfers through the portal. He appears committed to improving Colorado rather than pursuing other coaching jobs.
His comments should also ease the pressure on Shedeur in the NFL. Since last year’s draft, a persistent narrative suggested that whichever team drafted the Shedeur would eventually have to make Deion their head coach. That speculation followed Shedeur throughout the pre-draft process and likely played a role in his slide to the fifth round.
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With Deion making his position on his lack of interest in becoming an NFL head coach this clear, Shedeur can move forward without the shadow of his father’s coaching ambitions.
As we approach the 2026 college football season, Sanders has a program to rebuild and a new roster to develop.
