There were seven vacant head coaching jobs in the NFL in early January. Two weeks on, and the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints are the only ones who have yet to find their man. In Dallas, the reason their search is stretching on is because of a battle of wills between Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his son, Stephen. While Jerry reportedly wants Deion Sanders, Stephen has his sights set on a more realistic candidate. Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson thinks Jerry needs to bow out.
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Stephen, who is now the EVP, CEO, and director of player personnel for the franchise, is pushing for Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to get the job. It’s a logical move that would maintain a level of familiarity and stability for the team, especially on the offensive side. Jerry predictably wants the splashier acquisition in Coach Prime, even if Sanders has repeatedly and loudly asserted his intention to stay in Colorado.
Ochocinco is warning that a Coach Prime hire could turn out to be the “worst decision” the pompous owner could ever make. And that’s saying something.
“Jerry actually signing Prime, I think, would be the worst decision he could make. I would love Prime to be the coach of the Dallas Cowboys, but I understand the issues that Jerry would have with someone like Deion Sanders coming there. Not allowing Prime to have full control over everything, allowing him to pick his staff, allowing him to be the coach that he needs to be for him to have the success that he needs to have.”
One of the things everyone knows about Deion Sanders is that he’s going to draw attention. He’s a lightning rod and a quote machine. He does things his own way, often taking the unconventional route. That will bring the attention on him and take it away from Jerry Jones, which Ochocinco believes would be a big problem.
“Obviously Jerry wants to be the center of attention, when that’s not going to happen once Deion Sanders walks through that building. The limelight, the attention, it’s all going to go to him. I think Jerry’s going to resent that… So, I don’t see it as a good fit, and also, I don’t like Prime being there as a Cowboy even though he played for the Cowboys, I just don’t like it. Him and Jerry are gonna butt heads,” added Ocho.
And it’s not like we haven’t seen a scenario like this before. In the late 1980s, just after he bought the Cowboys for $140 million, Jones hired his college buddy Jimmy Johnson to be the head coach. Despite unprecedented levels of success, Jones chafed against the personable and well-liked Johnson. The head coach received too much praise for the team’s success.
“He had an issue with it when Jimmy Johnson was the coach and they were winning and Jimmy Johnson was getting all the credit, and Jerry wasn’t,” Chad noted. “The same thing is going to happen with Deion Sanders if he walks into Jerry’s World times 10. Matter of fact, times 20. It’s gonna be even worse. “
Conversely, Shannon Sharpe believes Jones never truly wanted to hire Coach Prime anyway.
“I believe it’s all a smoke screen. I don’t believe Jerry wants to handle Coach Prime anyway. This is the way to get around the Rooney (rule)… I could be wrong and I hope I’m wrong.”
We certainly wouldn’t put it past Jerry Jones to do something like this, but we’re not so sure if that’s the case this time around. Dallas has also interviewed Seattle Seahawks assistant coach Leslie Frazier extensively.
Apart from Frazier, the Cowboys have interviewed former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh (another minority interview, though he has since been hired as DC by the San Francisco 49ers), Philadelphia Eagles OC Kellen Moore, and Schottenheimer.
It seems like Schottenheimer has the inside track here, as the Cowboys look to prioritize continuity over splash.
