“I couldn't coach pro ball” Deion Sanders dismissed Cowboys' interest, says professional football is no longer a good fit for his coaching style

Deion Sanders stayed at Colorado despite the Dallas Cowboys' interest in him last month. On his show We Got Time Today, he told Troy Aikman that today's NFL lacks the practice intensity they had in the 1990s, making pro coaching unappealing to him.

Deion Sanders explains why he couldn't coach in the NFL, citing practice culture

Deion Sanders, who has served as head coach for two seasons at Colorado, has passed up potential NFL coaching opportunities with the Dallas Cowboys, despite the rumors surrounding the Cowboys' head-coaching vacancy. Sanders explained in a candid interview on Tubi that professional football is no longer a suitable fit for his coaching style.


"I couldn't coach pro ball," Sanders said on his show, which streamed Tuesday. "That's why I say, I couldn't coach -- I know it was cute -- but I couldn't coach pro ball, because the way they practice, the way they go about it, I couldn't take it. As a man, and as a football enthusiast, and I care about the game. The game is still providing for Troy and I, so there is no way I could allow that to happen on my watch. That would be tough."

Deion Sanders has never been interested in NFL coaching, telling 60 Minutes in 2022 he wouldn’t take any job. At Colorado, he’s 13-12 in two seasons, leading the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record last year, with Travis Hunter winning the Heisman Trophy.

The Cowboys last won a Super Bowl in 1996, defeating the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. That team featured stars like Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, and Charles Haley. They haven’t returned to the Super Bowl since.

"For Dallas, Deion would have been a really good fit because he would have commanded the room, and his personality is such that people would have known that he was in charge," Aikman said. "And I think that's important for the organization to know that the head coach is the one who's calling the shots and that he's in charge."


Troy Aikman mentioned that some of Deion Sanders' former Cowboys teammates were frustrated with team owner Jerry Jones for not formally interviewing Sanders or extending him an offer for the Cowboys' head coaching vacancy.

"You didn't need a call from me," Aikman said. "I was watching, wondering how this whole thing was going to unfold. I will say this: As you know, playmaker Michael Irvin is a Cowboy apologist, and you not getting an official interview, not being hired, even he, I'm not sure he's on the train right now."

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Dallas promoted Brian Schottenheimer to offensive coordinator, an in-house move. Schottenheimer, the son of late NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer, has extensive coaching experience, including stints with the Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets. He had been working as a consultant for the Cowboys in 2023 before his promotion.
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