The Dallas Cowboys have named Robert Saleh as their latest candidate to be interviewed for their vacant head coaching position. The team reportedly contacted Deion Sanders as well about the role on Monday, and are now expanding their search. It’s got a lot of fans wondering which direction they should go.
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As of now, Dallas is heavily linked with Deion to become the next coach in the Lone Star State. But it would have to be under certain conditions, as he said just last week, that he would only consider coaching in the NFL if it was with his sons. This would be a challenging requirement to meet, as the Cowboys hold the 12th pick in the draft — far from where Shedeur is expected to be taken. Dallas needs to make it clear to Deion that Dak Prescott is the QB of the future if Deion wants the job.
Perhaps this is why the Cowboys have now expanded their search to Saleh. He’s a coach who many would say was unfairly let go from the New York Jets after a mid-season loss in London last year. Saleh was a defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers when they went to the Super Bowl in 2019. He’s a mastermind at crafting defensive game plans, and showed that during his time in New York too.
Either coach would generate buzz in Texas. Deion is known as a player’s coach and a motivator who knows what to say and when to say it. Saleh, on the other hand, is known as a defensive wizard who can also get his team roused with a good pregame speech. But who would be the correct hire?
Saleh or Deion?
Either coach would be an improvement over Mike McCarthy and would get the fans excited going into the 2025 season. But as a Cowboys fan, Saleh is undoubtedly the better option. Deion is exciting and would generate a lot of clicks online, but there would be a massive amount of pressure on him under the assumption that he would turn the team around. Saleh wouldn’t be as glamorous to the media and would have less pressure.
Saleh would still make headlines and take on the most scrutinized coaching job in all of sports. But the shine on him would wear off quicker than Deion, which is exactly what Dallas needs. This isn’t a reality TV show; this is a rich NFL team that should be competing for Super Bowls yearly. They shouldn’t always be involved in the media because of some dumb thing Jerry Jones said. They need to get back to what worked in the ’90s when Jerry bought the team.
Saleh also has NFL (coaching) experience. Deion doesn’t. We’ve seen plenty of great college head coaches make the jump to the NFL and fail. It’s a different animal than college, and one you better be prepared for when you make that jump.
As of now, though, Deion leads the odds to become the next head coach of the team at +100, according to DraftKings. Other names include Kellen Moore, Kliff Kingsbury, and Joe Brady. All would be a step down from Deion and Saleh, but they need to be considered.
Moore was the offensive coordinator for Dallas once before. Kingsbury had a great season as the OC for the Washington Commanders. And Joe Brady continued to draw up excellent plays for Josh Allen as the Bills OC.
It’ll be interesting to see who the Cowboys decide to pick. But they should make the decision soon and start to gameplan what they’re going to do in the 2025 NFL Draft.
