NFL Draft season is upon the football world with the annual selection meeting scheduled for the end of April. One of the expected top picks is Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of legendary Hall-of-Fame cornerback Deion Sanders.
Both made the media rounds during Super Bowl Week and “Prime Time” answered why he turned down one of his former teams’ head coaching job.
Deion Sanders Wants To Coach His Son, Knows It Can’t Happen in Dallas
The Cowboys had a tough 2024 season, finishing 7-10 with franchise quarterback Dak Prescott sidelined after only eight games. Prescott suffered a partial avulsion of his right hamstring in Week 9 and underwent surgery later in the season.
On the eve of Week 1, Prescott signed a massive four-year, $240 million extension, making him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL in terms of average annual value. The early return on that investment hasn’t paid off for Dallas, with Prescott missing half the season and struggling mightily even when he was healthy.
In the eight games that he played, Prescott led the Cowboys to a 3-5 record and ranked as the 30th-best quarterback in the NFL, according to PFSN’s QB+ metric. His 65.7 (D) grade across his eight starts ranked behind Cleveland Browns QB Jameis Winston (65.7), Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young (67.8), Tennessee Titans QB Mason Rudolph (69.0), and Jacksonville Jaguars QB Mac Jones (69.2) among others.
Prescott has been the guy for Dallas since being drafted in 2016. He’s led the team to five playoff appearances and four division titles in his nine seasons. However, he’s been unable to get through Dallas’ Divisional Round wall and has multiple home Wild Card losses on his résumé.
Dallas is locked into Prescott for the foreseeable future, which played a part in Coach Prime pulling his name out of contention for the team’s head coaching job.
View this post on Instagram
The Colorado head coach spoke with “I AM ATHLETE” host Kayla Nicole during Super Bowl week, and she bluntly asked him, “Why not the Cowboys?”
“I’m not going to coach without my son,” Sanders revealed. “And they have a huge investment in their quarterback. They knew that. I’m not stepping up to that level without my baby.”
The elder Sanders has meteorically risen to become a superstar head coach, going from high school offensive coordinator to Power Four head coach in four years. Before joining Colorado, he led the Jackson State Tigers for three years, coaching his son to back-to-back SWAC championships. The duo left for Colorado in 2023, and in 2024, they took the Buffaloes to their first bowl game since 2020.
GET DRAFTING: Free NFL Mock Draft Simulator With Trades
Sanders played for the Cowboys from 1995 to 1999, winning Super Bowl 30 after the ’95 season. He’s a legendary player for Dallas but has consistently said he won’t leave Colorado for the NFL unless he’s coaching Shedeur.
Breaking Down Dak Prescott’s Contract
The Cowboys gave Prescott a record four-year, $240 million deal. His average annual value (AAV) is a whopping $60 million, which is $5 million more than the next-closest player.
The deal features $231 million in guaranteed money, just beating out Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson for the most in NFL history.
This new contract takes effect in 2025, as Prescott was playing on the final year of his previous contract (a four-year, $160 million pact) this past season.
The deal will keep Prescott with the Cowboys through the 2028 season, but there is a potential out after the 2027 campaign.
MORE: NFL’s Highest-Paid Quarterbacks
It remains to be seen if Prescott will stay with the Cowboys for the duration of his deal, as there have been some rumblings about the team being interested in Texas phenom Arch Manning in the 2026 NFL Draft.
In PFSN’s recent 2025 NFL Bold Predictions piece, Kyle Soppe projected the Cowboys to lose 12 games next year, opening the door to select Manning.
“Dallas will struggle to reach six wins under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer. Following a 7-10 record in 2024, the team faces several challenges, including limited salary cap space and a reluctance to sign free agents. These issues will likely leave the Cowboys with a high draft pick in 2026, setting the stage for them to target Arch Manning,” Soppe wrote.
“The season could get off to a rocky start, much like in 2024, with a significant holdout from star linebacker Micah Parsons as he negotiates a long-term extension. Parsons could miss most of training camp, similar to CeeDee Lamb, and may not have enough time to familiarize himself with new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ system.”
Regardless, given Coach Prime’s interest in coaching his son in the NFL, it makes sense that Dallas wasn’t a good fit since Prescott’s monster deal is just about to take effect.
Who Did the Cowboys Hire As Head Coach Instead of Sanders?
The Cowboys made the controversial decision to promote former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach. This move drew intense criticism, with several former players even chiming in to rip Jerry Jones and Co.
The 2023 Cowboys were the top-ranked scoring offense in Schottenheimer’s first year as offensive coordinator but fell to 23rd amid injuries to Prescott, Lamb, and Zack Martin. In Schottenheimer’s 14 seasons as offensive coordinator, it’s the fifth time he’s had a team rank 20th or worse in PPG and the seventh time they’ve ranked in the bottom half of the league.
Since PFN’s Offense+ metric began in 2019, Schottenheimer has had four seasons as a team’s offensive coordinator. Here’s how those teams fared and where they ranked:
- 2024 Cowboys: 68.2 (D+), 23rd
- 2023 Cowboys: 83.7 (B), 4th
- 2020 Seahawks: 82.6 (B-), 12th
- 2019 Seahawks: 78.0 (C+), 12th
Schottenheimer has been the offensive coordinator for four franchises over the course of 12 seasons: the Cowboys (2023-24), Seahawks (2018-20), Rams (2012-14), and Jets (2006-11). In that span he’s coached under Mike McCarthy, Pete Carroll, Jeff Fisher, Rex Ryan, and Eric Mangini.
In eight of his first nine seasons as an offensive coordinator, Schottenheimer’s teams ranked 13th or lower in scoring offense, with only the 2008 Jets (ninth) finishing in the top 10. However, he coordinated four consecutive top-10 scoring offenses between Seattle and Dallas prior to the 2024 Cowboys falling off.
Schottenheimer is the third head coach hired by Jones without prior head coaching experience in the NFL or college. The first two such hires had mixed results.
Jason Garrett achieved four winning seasons and four 8-8 seasons during his nine full seasons as head coach. Dave Campo, on the other hand, recorded three consecutive 5-11 seasons.
