Sanders says Cowboys coaching rumors ‘weren’t real’

All of the talk about Deion Sanders leaving Colorado to coach the Dallas Cowboys was just that -- rumors that weren’t true, he said.

“They weren’t real at all,” Sanders told Front Office Sports on Tuesday. “I liked playing the pro game, but I wouldn’t enjoy coaching the pro game. It’s a different game.”

The Cowboys were looking for a replacement for Mike McCarthy after his contract was not renewed following the 2024 season. Sanders, the Colorado Buffaloes’ head coach, spoke with owner and general manager Jerry Jones in January 2025. They didn’t consider it an official interview for the job, which went to Brian Schottenheimer, who was promoted from offensive coordinator.

“(We) just (had) a conversation about the team and where he is,” Jones said at the time after confirming that he spoke with Sanders during the hiring process. “His boys, had a conversation with his boys ... again, I’ve talked to a lot of coaches, and Deion has a job.”

Sanders, 58, played 14 seasons in the NFL between 1989 and 2005, including five years with the Cowboys (1995-99). He was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and six-time first-team All-Pro cornerback.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player in 2011.

Sanders is 16-21 in three seasons at Colorado, including 9-4 overall and 7-2 in the Big 12 Conference in 2024, behind Heisman Trophy-winning two-way player Travis Hunter and star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of the head coach.

After earning a bowl appearance that season, they fell to 3-9 in 2025.

“I’m focused on winning and getting these kids through college so they have degrees, and they’re able to attain tremendous professions even after football is over,” Sanders told FOS. “But I have no thought process of the NFL whatsoever.”

Shedeur Sanders went on to the NFL’s Cleveland Browns last season and topped the NFL Players Association’s group licensing income list with a record $17.7 million payday in 2025.

“It was a tremendous deal with the NFLPA,” Deion Sanders said.

He also discussed in the interview the possibility of College Football Playoff expansion, saying the 16-team Big 12 Conference’s coaches would support it.

“It would be nice. I would love 24,” he said. “That would be tremendous. If you would have had 24 teams a year ago, a multitude of teams from the Big 12 would have been participating in the playoffs, which would have been perfect for the Big 12. And that’s what we’re standing on. I would love that. I don’t know if we’re going to attain that.”

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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 10:27 AM.