Like it or not, you can not ignore Jerry Jones. Jason Bell, former NFL player turned analyst who once played for Jones and the Cowboys, puts it perfectly: “I gotta love Jerry Jones. It’s amazing that a guy that’s not in the playoffs has stolen the news cycle again, right?… We are talking about the elite eight right now, but all of a sudden it’s the Dallas Cowboys and what they’re gonna do.” Why not? When the Coach Prime factor is also there in the mix, it is bound to become a burning storyline.

Sanders signed with Jones and the Cowboys in 1995 and helped ‘America’s Team’ go on to win Super Bowl XXX, their third Super Bowl title in four years. He played five seasons in Dallas, making the Pro Bowl every year and cementing himself as the greatest cornerback of all time. Now, almost 30 years later, Jones and Sanders may find themselves once again doing business with one another. After a miserable season, it seemed that Coach Prime might be the missing piece the Cowboys were searching for. And just when it seemed like we’d averted discourse about Deion Sanders and the Dallas Cowboys for at least another year when the former was initially vehement in establishing his loyalty for the Buffs, it cropped back up to the forefront.

Only this time, the interest seems to be more reciprocal.

Adam Schefter and various other revered reporters broke some seismic news. Deion had a direct conversation with Jerry pertaining to the head coaching vacancy.

“To hear from Jerry Jones is truly delightful, and it’s intriguing,” relayed Sanders to Schefter after the said conversation. “I love Jerry and believe in Jerry. After you hang up [the call] and process it and think about it, it’s intriguing. But I love Boulder and everything there is about our team, the coaches, our student body in the community.” But there’s more.

The operative word here, “intriguing,” is quite resounding. It’s implied that Deion is indeed considering the move which is a stance softer than what he was letting only a few weeks ago. In the aftermath of this, Adam Schefter dissected his own conversation with Coach Prime over on The Pat McAfee Show. The show’s namesake asked Schefter his assessment of how likely it is Deion Sanders is on the sidelines in Arlington next season.

“I could tell you this. Having spoken to him, the way I took it was, he wasn’t interested in going to the NFL. He wasn’t thinking of planning to go to the NFL. It may not even happen that he goes to the NFL. But because he loves and respects Jerry Jones so much, when Jerry calls, of course, he’s going to talk to him. And he was ‘intrigued,’ to use his word. Intrigued to speak to Jerry Jones. 

“He heaped all kinds of praises on Colorado. He’s talking to the athletic director there. I’m sure I can say this at the back of my mind that probably there’s some money involved. I don’t think that’s a ridiculous notion when it comes to Prime who has been an incredible businessman throughout his entire career. I said at the end of the conversation, ‘So, what’s next?’

“And he said to me, ‘I don’t know.’ I said, ‘You don’t know what’s happening next?’… I think everything is in the beginning stages. there’s no meeting plan with Jerry right now. But clearly the logic and communication are open. They’re going to be in touch and I think it goes for both sides.”    

It’s a possibility. But how would these two do if they joined forces in Dallas? Cowboys great DeMarcus Ware spoke to Sports Illustrated this week about it, and the Hall of Famer has some concerns about how they would mix together.

“I’ve thought about that and I think [Sanders] would be a great coach here but it will be hard to have two stars. If we have Jerry and Deion here it would be a challenge to have two stars. One wants to really dial in on the team with the guys and there’s someone who is the marketing guru of the team. If they can come together and work together that would be awesome, but I’d prefer to have [Jason] Witten in there right now,” Ware said.

Ware added that he would be open to it if Jones and Sanders could find a way to put egos aside and work as one unit. “If those two giants can get together and work something out I would put Witten to the side and tell him he can be offensive coordinator and help Deion out,” he further added. With the consensus view about Jerry Jones running the Cowboys with a ‘my way or the highway’ sort of directive, Coach Prime acts as an intriguing proposition. He can get more leverage out of Jerry than perhaps any coach in the football sphere. CeeDee Lamb has also weighed in with a subtle discernment of what he thinks about Deion as his next coach.

The superstar wide receiver “liked” an IG post reporting the news of Deion and Jerry’s conversation. Make of this what you will, but in the modern era of football, that’s essentially a vote of confidence. CeeDee’s own stardom and stock took a slight dent after an injury-ridden season where he couldn’t replicate his production from 2023, which got him paid, too. He’ll be looking for a fresh slate, and a new coach facilitates that. Lamb isn’t alone as an NFL player who’d potentially like to see Sanders make the leap to the professional ranks. New York Jets receiver Davante Adams has also shared his perspective on the move.

“You talk about a player’s coach,” Adams said on the Up & Adams show. “[Sanders] has a special way of doing it and it’s a little unorthodox but I think he’s got the respect of most players in the league, in college. It may not be your flavor in particular but I think he’s a hell of a coach. I think he knows how to get guys behind him and working in the right direction.” Jerry Jones is definitely not unaware of all these. But let’s not forget the riders.

To what extent can Jerry Jones go, to lure Deion Sanders?

For the longest time, it seemed like Deion and Shedeur Sanders were a packaged deal. Acquire one and the other shall follow suit. This doesn’t quite seem to be how things are transpiring. The scope of Shedeur donning the iconic White Star seems almost negligible. It was already bleak given Dak Prescott’s contract, the richest ever for an NFL quarterback. However, the Cowboys do not have a linear, conspicuous route to drafting Shedeur either.

For certain periods in the season, it seemed like the Cowboys were in free fall. A top 5ish draft pick was well within the realm of possibility. They’re ultimately picking 12th. Even the most strenuous of acrobatics that Jerry Jones can pull won’t get them high enough. There’s a school of thought that they could trade Micah Parsons to move up the draft board. But that seems far-fetched, even for Jerry. But do you know what Cowboys insider Ed Werder just reported?

“I’m being told that he would almost certainly accept if Jerry Jones offers to make him the next Cowboys head coach, that those around him are encouraging him to pursue it and that Jones is enamored with the idea,” Werder said!

Deion Sanders has coached his son along every step of the way. This is the first time their paths are diverging, or so is likely. A sensational spanner in the works could be beckoning, though. It remains to be seen how this one works itself out. A long few months await the Sanders clan and 2 prideful fanbases.