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Keeping it in the family: Why Deion Sanders, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys make sense


Perhaps no owner in the NFL understands the importance of “keeping it all in the family” better than Jerry Jones, who said as much in episode 9 of the TV show “Landman.” In an interview with Jon Hamm and Billy Bob Thorton, Jones took five minutes to deliver a message that can only come from a place that is true, authentic and authentic.

Playing himself, a wild animal who dug holes in the ground and made a fortune, Jones told the true story of his daughter Charlotte leaving Arkansas to attend Stanford. She couldn’t stand being that far away from him for that long, so she picked up and moved to Palo Alto, California, to be near him. The only way he could make a move was to work there too. He did so. He found a place near Brentwood, California.

“I bought 25 lots as if I was going to build 25 houses, except I had to drill four gas wells,” Jones said. “And those four gas wells in 18 months paid me enough money to buy the Dallas Cowboys. Taking care of my kids actually led to me being involved with the love of my life. And all the while, all I was trying to do was take care of my kids. stay close to my daughter.”

All this time, all Deion Sanders was trying to do was stay close to his sons, and that led to a love of coaching football.

Never mind that Sanders played with the Cowboys for five years, led the team to the Super Bowl and was an All-Pro in Dallas. Never mind that his forever home, the 5,000-acre Country Prime Ranch, is in Canton, Texas. Never forget that Texas residents do not pay state income tax.

No coach in America has a better understanding of why Jones recruited all three of his kids to the top positions within the Dallas Cowboys. No owner understands better why Deion Sanders needs his sons to play for the team he coaches.

Not only did Prime step in to coach his boys, but he never coached a single season of football without his youngest son, Shedeur Sanders — who may be the first QB off the board in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft — on his team. Shedeur has started 47 collegiate games at quarterback with Deion as his head coach. In those games, Prime and Shedeur are 33-14 – seven of those losses coming in Year 1 at Colorado together.

Pairing a new head coach with the quarterback he wants is not a new concept in the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals did just that when they hired Kliff Kingsbury, who made Kyler Murray, the man they wanted, the No. 1 pick. 1 in the 2019 NFL Draft.

While Dak Prescott’s four-year, $240 million extension will run this season and his no-trade clause is still active, I have no doubt that if Jones wants to see the Cowboys move on from Prescott, that’s what will happen. Salary doctors will be angry. The analytics dorks will come out, and Dallas sports radio will talk about it for hundreds of hours. Prescott and his big-number contract aren’t a problem for someone with the kind of money Jones has.

At that time, Shedeur will leave Colorado having set every passing record in program history. He will also leave as one of the most famous players in the game.

And there is no doubt that Shedeur would like to continue playing for his father.

Back in 2021 and 2022, Deion Sanders was constantly out of the hospital, requiring eight surgeries during that time to remove potentially fatal blood clots. Shedeur made it a point to visit his father every day as the season rolled into 2021, and during that time, his performance on the field suffered. Deion missed many games in his son’s first career as a head coach, and Shedeur felt his father’s absence.

“Shedeur came to me and said, ‘Dad, I need you,'” Sanders recalled. “You have to understand that he had never played a game without me in his life except for those.”

After seeing his son’s game suffer, Deion agreed. He lost 30 pounds in the hospital. But he kept his word, weak and powerless. He watched Shedeur throw the game-winning TD pass, his son and safety Shilo Sanders make a touchdown catch, and his Jackson State Tigers beat the Southern Jaguars, 21-17.

“I said, ‘God, look at me,'” Deion told Shannon Sharpe on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast. “[You had] 21 points on the scoreboard with Shedeur hitting the game-winning pass and Shilo making the interview-clinching layup. “

Deion made 21, the number he wore in the NFL and became famous with the Dallas Cowboys, as much of his image as his moniker, “Coach Prime.” Where there’s a sign to see, Deion Sanders will see it.

He is the only successful head coach to appear on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “CBS This Morning,” a talk show on Tubi – “We Have Time Today” – and a documentary series on Prime Video. It was the latter that led to an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” where he gave an answer to whether he would pursue a head coaching job in the NFL.

“It’s the only way I can think of [coaching in the NFL] coaching my sons,” Deion said back on Jan. 8.

On Jan. 13, Jones had fired coach Mike McCarthy and put in a call to the one person who might be bigger than Jones in Texas. Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports broke the news.

On Monday night, members of the media and artists were abuzz with news that seemed silly to many who had not noticed Prime’s rise to the coaching ranks. Those are the same people who say this year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Travis Hunter, the most athletic talent the sport has ever seen, can’t play both ways in the NFL. They forget that Hunter played for the only man who has done that in the modern NFL, and the only man who knows what it takes physically.

Deion said he thinks of Hunter as a fourth son to him, which means Jones will need to find a way to add not only Shedeur to the Dallas Cowboys’ roster, but Shiloh and Hunter, as well. While there is little doubt about when and where Shedeur and Hunter will be drafted — the first round — some still have concerns about Shiloh’s place in the NFL.

He is a small box safety who made 137 tackles, forced five fumbles and made one interception in two seasons at Colorado. His ceiling compares favorably to Bob Sanders when he was a safety for the Indianapolis Colts and a two-time All-Pro.

While Bronny James may not be playing in the NBA, Shiloh can and should make the 53-man roster of an NFL franchise. There is no doubt in my mind that Jones would make the same concession to Deion as the Los Angeles Lakers did to LeBron James — whether he wanted to make his podcast partner his offensive coordinator or his head coach, as James did with JJ Redick.

The stars rule and the stars make their own rules. Deion Sanders is on the short list of the most popular head coaches in North America and probably polls better than Los Angeles Dodger manager Dave Roberts, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Ohio State coach Ryan Day. In fact, the only coach who might be more famous than Prime right now is Kansas Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, and that’s far from a sure thing.

Knowing what we do about Jones, we shouldn’t doubt that he has the power and money to bring Sanders to the Cowboys — and yes, that includes paying $8 million. shopping to protect him. Is there anything short of making Prime the highest-paid coach in college football, and by extension, keeping him in Boulder if Jones decides to push him?

Paying Prime more than double his current year’s salary — $5.7 million — might not cut it, as USC coach Lincoln Riley, Florida State coach Mike Norvell and Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer each make more than $10 million a year, according to . USA Today.

Paying Prime the same amount as Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who makes more than $13 million a year, or Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who makes more than $11 million a year, might cause Boulder brass to blink, but that’s a better future than going back. back. forget, this is where Colorado football was before Prime arrived.

Colorado’s ownership is tied to Deion Sanders — not the other way around. We know what happens to Colorado football when he leaves, and so do they. So wait or prepare for nothingness to be your name again, Colorado.

Now speak the truth and shame the Devil. He knew full well that Deion Sanders was going to compete for the Dallas Cowboys coaching job. You knew because this Sanders has been there all along. You knew it from the time Sanders got out of his seat for the eighth time at youth football practice to fix the coach on the fly. You knew from the moment he looked hard how much he loves his family, knows football, and has the ability to pass that means this will always be true.

You have already made peace with it. If it does, you’ll put on a Cowboy hat, sit in your seat and turn on FOX in the Sunday afternoon window to watch Deion Sanders lead Dallas to the most compelling season the organization has seen since 1996.

And you’ll smile about it.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and commentator for FOX Sports and host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him on @RJ_Omusha.

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