Getty The Cowboys have had a quiet offseason.
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has what he believes is the perfect idea for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. During the January 20 episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, O’Neal urged Jones to consider replacing head coach Mike McCarthy with former Cowboys great Deion Sanders.
“I’m putting this out right now, Deion Sanders as the next head coach of the Cowboys,” O’Neal explained. “Jerry Jones, this message is from Shaquille O’Neal incorporated. Deion Sanders for the next coach of the Cowboys.
“You want to get Dallas back rocking? Bring Deion to the fold. Deion will hold those players accountable. Deion Sanders for the next Cowboys coach, put it out. Tweet it, damn it, TikTok it, Instagram it, OnlyFans it, put it out. ET it.”
Sanders is heading into his second season as the Jackson State head coach. The former lockdown corner made history this offseason by securing the best recruiting class in the school’s history, headlined by No. 1 ranked prospect Travis Hunter.
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Deion on Cowboys Rumors: ‘I Don’t Have Any Desire or Ambition to Coach in the NFL’
Jones has already confirmed that McCarthy will be the team’s head coach in 2022. The Cowboys are also getting back both coordinators after Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore participated in multiple interviews for head coaching vacancies around the league. During a February 10 interview with Sports Illustrated’s Bri Amaranthus, Sanders shot down the notion of returning to his former team.
“I don’t have any desire or ambition to coach in the NFL,” Sanders explained. “I have a problem with men getting their checks and not doing their jobs. I would be too tough as a coach in the NFL because I still have those old-school attributes.”
Sanders also dismissed the idea of becoming an assistant for the Cowboys or another NFL team. The Cowboys legend explained that he is “not an assistant coach.”
“I’m not an assistant coach,” Sanders explained. “That is not me. I am a head coach … I don’t settle for mediocrity whatsoever. You are going to do it this way, we are going to work our butts off, we are going to be a team. The only thing that is individual about you is the way you play.”
Jones Finally Backed McCarthy as Cowboys Head Coach for 2022
In the days following the Cowboys’ elimination loss to the 49ers, Jones initially declined to publicly confirm McCarthy’s future with the team. Weeks later, Jones called in to Dallas’ 105.3 the Fan to clear up the coaching rumors.
“But the thing I want to clear up is that the idea of Mike [McCarthy] twisting in the wind just wasn’t the case at all,” Jones said on January 28. “We were sitting there trying to keep Dan Quinn and trying to maintain continuity on our coaching staff.”
McCarthy may be back for next season but a slow start could prompt the rumors to heat up once again in the fall.