It's a dreamlike combination of storylines for sports media: The Dallas Cowboys need a head coach for 2025 and beyond and Deion Sanders, the NFL legend that captured football fans on the field, part of it wearing the Star on his helmet, has taken college football by storm and could consider jumping to the pros the same year his quarterback son declares for the NFL Draft? 

Hollywood wouldn't come up with this. That's why it's become a widely discussed topic in NFL circles, including Michael Irvin suddenly acting as Sanders' biggest promoter. The legendary Cowboys wide receiver recently said on Netflix he'd talk to Jerry Jones about Sanders and days later claimed he "100% believe" coach Prime would go to Dallas if they landed Shedeur Sanders in the draft.

However, there are many question marks regarding this possibility. Does Deion even want to coach in the NFL? How on Earth would the Cowboys make a transition to Shedeur? Would Deion take the job even if he doesn't get to coach his son? 

To get some insight on Sanders, I reached out to A to Z Sports' College Football Managing Editor Travis May to take an in-depth look and whether or not there's anything to the notion that Deion Sanders could coach America's Team. 

Does Deion Sanders even want to coach in the NFL? 

If you ask coach Prime himself, he'll say he's just getting comfortable at Colorado. And while it's true he said similar things about not leaving Jackson State, he's on a very different spot now that he's in the national picture of college football. 

"Jackson State is a great program for the FCS level, but it's Colorado, and he's actually taken them to a good place in just two years," May explained. "And so he's in a real spot where you could cement a real memorable legacy at the highest levels of college football."

One of the biggest misconceptions about Sanders seems to be that now that his sons are headed to the NFL alongside Travis Hunter, who he iconically flipped from Florida State to Jackson State back in 2021, he might lose interest in staying at the college level. 

Actions say otherwise, as Sanders has stepped up his recruiting game, laying a strong foundation for success at Colorado for years to come. 

"It's not just his sons anymore, "May says. "And it's not just Travis Hunter anymore. He's really trying to flip key recruits for this next year to actually have a less than embarrassing high school football recruiting class on top of the transfers you know he's going to bring in. So everything he's doing now is finally looking like a head coach is supposed to look at the college football level, and he was not there just a year ago."

Is Shedeur Sanders a requirement for Coach Prime to jump to the NFL?  

Speaking of his sons, one of the biggest storylines that's been almost accepted as a fact for many is that he'd be convinced if he can coach a team where his son lands to play quarterback. That's quite the hurdle for the Cowboys, who just signed Dak Prescott to a massive contract extension that made him the highest-paid quarterback in the league. 

By the way, they signed him to such a deal because they truly believe in him and would be unlikely to change trajectory even after a rough season in 2024. But let's get crazy and assume they'd want to trade him and that they could get over the hump of a no-trade clause: Prescott would have a $104 million dead camp "if traded," per Spotrac. It's just not happening. 

"The only way I think (Deion) would find a way to make the leap is if he can continue coaching Shedeur," May says. "If he can, he's coached him for so long already, and if not, Shedeur, Travis Hunter, and if not Travis Hunter, Shilo, but more specifically, I think he would love to kind of orchestrate the future success for Shedeur, as he has already done so (…) I think if there's an opportunity for him to get a coaching job in the NFL, where he can stay with his sons, or specifically Sheduer, that's that's how it happens, but otherwise, I'm hardly convinced he's leaving."

If that's the only way it'd happen, you can pretty much rule out the Cowboys and just about any team that doesn't have a Top 3 draft pick, as coaches are hired in January. The NFL Draft isn't until April. Timing would be an issue unless you can guarantee the team is picking Shedeur. 

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Would Sanders' style work at the NFL level? 

But let's get past speculating on Sanders' potential intentions… If he wanted to jump to the NFL, would his old-school and unique style actually work? 

"Honestly, it's been so bizarre because he looked like he wasn't going to be successful when things first started getting rolling in Colorado, and they started off hot, and then for the rest of the season, the wheels kind of fell off, and it looked like he was not in place to bring in a recruiting and he was doing things that were not along the typical mold," May says, highlighting how unique Sanders' approach is. "I mean, just flat out, refusing to visit recruits like a normal college football coach. And so it was just really odd, but at the same time, that's just kind of who he's been and whatever he's done. And I think he's just not afraid to say, look, we're we're just building things our way, where it's going to look different, and we're going to define it as as not just the Prime way, but we're going to do it the right way."

As far as building a culture goes, Sanders has proven to be a straight up success. But it should be noted he's not going to be the gameday advantage type coach, as he's even struggled with time management.

"I think he just understands and has a vision for the culture that he wants to build. More so than anything, he might still make the wrong calls on game day and not know how to get his time outs properly, and cock management and things like that, as he's just still gotten used to coaching at the highest levels," May adds. "He's still very young in terms of his coaching experience, and so that's only going to get better, but I think he's just been a huge. Huge culture guy, as much as there have been aspects of it that I have not liked and has not been typical, I think you can't deny what the results have shown this season."

As flashy as his style is, Sanders is far from perfect and one of the biggest question marks surrounding him is how does he "it's my ship" style gel with players at the NFL level, many of whom will be making more money than the coach. In the league, it's difficult to pull off the authoritarian figure given how coaches and players are much more "equal."

"I think a lot of times how he's kind of treated, whether it be the media or players, or players families, and just how he kind of communicates, it can come off rather harsh and insensitive," May says about what he doesn't really like about Sanders. "That's not really my opinion, that's, that's the opinions of many people who he's directly  offended or insulted, or really, rubbed the wrong way."

At the same time, that's what's made him a success in a way.

"But again, it's like he has a vision," May acknowledges. "He knows what he wants to do, and he's going to execute it. And if he hurts some people's feelings on the way, sorry about you. That's just kind of who he is. And so, we can judge him for it, or we can just kind of appreciate the fact that he gets things done."

Sanders and Jerry Jones: A true boom or bust scenario

The idea of pairing Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Deion Sanders together is one that makes people wonder of two potential outcomes: Either the latter finally changes the dynamic in Dallas, where business comes before football and truly takes the reigns of the football operations or it becomes a power struggle the second Sanders takes the wheel. 

"In one sense, the Cowboys kind of need a baton pass here, a changing of the guard at the crazy and Deion would do just that. I think Jerry Jones is an interesting personality, and he has been as long as he's been around the NFL. And I think initially that would actually that would not work very well. I think they would kind of get underneath each other's skin, but might give Jerry an opportunity to just finally transition out if he was passing the baton to somebody that he knew was as crazy as he was, and honestly, with Deion, why it's worked wherever he's gone, I think, is because in both places, Jackson State and Colorado, the programs have just gotten out of the way, and said, Look, Deion, run it how you want to run it. Bring the players you want to bring, have the celebrities on the sideline that you want to have on the sideline, and just make it a show, because this is the entertainment. Do it, do your thing. And that freedom, I'm not sure it exists in in Jerry's world." 

"The way Dion treats college right now, he's almost like the head coach and the GM all at once, and that's maybe not in title, but that's kind of how he rolls and runs the show," May says. "It's like he's almost the owner, the GM and the head coach, all in one at that level. And I think it would take a little bit of a learning curve to settle into a role where that was not him running everything, because that would probably rub some people, some players, some coaches, some ownership, the wrong way."

In other words, if Jones truly considers Sanders as a candidate to be the next Cowboys head coach, he better be ready to go from doing things his way, to Sanders' way. 

Predicting Deion Sanders' actual future in football

While it's more than understandable that the media is going 200 miles per hour with this storyline, it's still not looking likely for Sanders to leave college football right now. Below is Travis May's prediction:

"I do (believe he stays in Colorado, he continues to work the recruiting trail trying to flip the the best high school recruits in the nation, which, again, that's just something he's not really done up and down his rosters," May explains. "He's only brought in two or three players like that were ranked in the top 250 in the country at the high school recruiting level, and then retained them. And so I think he's pursuing the areas that you absolutely have to pursue if you're going to contend at the highest levels. Because what he's done is taken a program that was like 1-11 and turn them around to hey, if they win a couple more games and the Big 12 championship, they're in the College Football Playoff. But even if they do make the playoff this year, they're going to get absolutely destroyed, because they just don't have the depth that the, you know, the top end programs have. (…) He's acting like he's sticking around. So I think most likely, he returns to Colorado." 

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