Cowboys and Super Bowls can wait because Deion Sanders has unfinished business in Colorado

HOF Deion Sanders stayed in Colorado despite Jerry Jones' offer to coach the Cowboys, aiming to conquer college football first.

Cowboys and Super Bowls can wait because Deion Sanders has unfinished business in Colorado

Deion Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

Deion Sanders is a Dallas Cowboys legend, but Colorado is still home. Even if Jerry Jones had given up an arm and a leg, the Hall of Famer would have stayed with the Buffaloes because he still has some unfinished business.

Jones may not show it on the surface, but his muffled sentences during interviews screamed how desperate he was behind the scenes only a few weeks ago. There were clear signs that the Cowboys (Jones) did not want Mike McCarthy any longer at Arlington. The reports clearly point in that direction.

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Jones began knocking on every door and window, searching for candidates befitting of the Cowboys brand. There was hardly anyone better than Prime Time himself. Deion quickly rose to fame as a coach, first with Jackson State and then at Colorado.

Sanders made sense. His people skills, attention to detail, views toward discipline, and most of all, he won a Super Bowl with the Cowboys. Now how many current Cowboys can say that? None. Some were not even born back then. Yeah, it has been that long. Too long and Jerry envisioned the triumphant return of the prodigal son to Dallas.

It didn’t happen. Sanders blocked the move himself because he had zero interest in the NFL unless he gets to coach his babies. Jones then did the next best thing. He gave offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer a big raise and made him the Cowboys’ main man in the locker room. Dak Prescott’s endorsement sometimes comes in handy.

Why did Deion Sanders turn Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys down?

Colorado was a complete dumpster fire when Sanders walked through the doors in 2023. His patchwork still had massive embers leaking out during the first season but the year after he extinguished the fire altogether. The Buffaloes ended the 2024 campaign with a 9-3 record (the best since Donald Trump’s first tenure as president).

Deion Sanders: Cowboys & Super Bowls can wait because he has unfinished business in Colorado
Deion Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

Narrowly missing out on the BIG 12 Championship game still haunts Sanders and his crew of coaches including Warren Sapp and Marshall Faulk. His primary goal was establishing Colorado as an exciting place for young men to come and play. He achieved it.

The second and the most important one is winning everything—being the next Ohio State. It would take a lot for an NFL team to lure Sanders away. However, he had and has no intention of being Jerod Mayo 2.0, even if it means coaching his beloved Cowboys.

There’s a difference between a chance and an opportunity. I am an opportunity; I am not a chance. let’s get this straight. I love Colorado and I am not using them as a stepping stone to land anywhere else [because] I absolutely love it there.

Deion Sanders told Stephen A. Smith on Friday’s First Take

Sanders took inspiration from his past experiences. The door was shut in his face despite pleading with the Falcons brass to make him the head honcho in the early 2000s. He learned his lesson and further realized the stark difference between coaching in college and coaching in the NFL.

I know it’s cute but I couldn’t coach pro ball. The way they practice, the way they go about it, I couldn’t take it as a man and as a football enthusiast. I care about the game.

Deion Sanders told Rocsi Diaz on his podcast

Loyalty is a rare trait in the modern age of sports. People’s opinions on Deion Sanders and how he conducts business in Colorado may differ, but none can argue about his commitment to making the program better.

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