Over the past few months, the Dallas Cowboys had been rumored to have interest in bringing in Deion Sanders as their next head coach. However, after deciding to go in a different direction, Cowboys legend Michael Irvin has made it clear that he believes passing on Sanders is a mistake. On Friday, the Cowboys chose Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach instead.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel on Saturday night, Irvin expressed his thoughts on the missed opportunity to hire Sanders, stating, “We lost an opportunity here,” Irvin said. “I was pushing for Deion Sanders to be the next coach. And I still stand ten toes down on that push.” He did, however, voice uncertainty about whether Schottenheimer can instill the right discipline needed to cultivate a winning team in Dallas.
“We have two NFC East teams in the NFC Championship game being played tomorrow—the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders. Our enemies on all fronts. And [in] a position that we haven’t held in 30 years,” Irvin elaborated. “You are bringing in someone who already was inside as the head coach, which causes you to lose elements that are hard to reclaim. I know what we need; they don’t have curfew. They don’t have discipline. We were fourth in penalties this year. So how do you fix that? How do you achieve that when you’re coming from within?”
It’s not surprising to see Irvin so upset about the Cowboys missing out on Sanders, given that he played alongside Sanders as a member of the Cowboys for five successful seasons. Irvin clearly believes that the winning mentality Sanders had as a player could have positively influenced the current Cowboys organization. However, for now, it appears Jerry Jones does not share Irvin’s perspective.
