The future of Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was always going to be a footnote to the 2024 season. However, with the core of the team and most of last year’s roster returning, many believed it wouldn’t be the focus until the playoffs of the discussion.

Sure, every Cowboys loss is analyzed with a fine-tooth comb on a national (and local) scale, but ultimately McCarthy would be judged on Dallas’ playoff success, or lack thereof.

With the team heading for a top-10 pick in the 2025 draft, with Dak Prescott officially out for the season due to his hamstring injury, speculation about McCarthy is rampant.

McCarthy’s seat may be the hottest in the NFL and everyone has an opinion on who should replace him. Cowboys legend Michael Irvin is distraught over how Dallas’ season has unfolded, but he has seemingly circled his top candidate to replace McCarthy at the helm.

It is admittedly difficult to embrace Irvin’s idea.

In an episode of FS1 Speak this week, Irvin made a not-so-subtle comment to Colorado head coach and former Cowboys superstar Deion Sanders. Irvin praised Sanders for his work in Colorado and crafted a clever story about why he was able to succeed in his old stomping ground.

“You encourage people to be better than they actually are (in Colorado) and can I continue with that because other than Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys no place needs people to encourage people to be better than they actually are are,” Irvin told Sanders. .

Irvin isn’t the first — and he certainly won’t be the last — to recommend Sanders as McCarthy’s replacement. ESPN personality and noted Cowboys cynic Stephen A. Smith pitched the idea First recordingonly he thinks Dallas Shedeur should use Sanders in addition to hiring Deion.

The appeal behind Deion coaching the Cowboys is undeniable. He already has a relationship with owner Jerry Jones and his ability to motivate a locker room speaks for itself. He turned Colorado into a national powerhouse. At 7-2, they are in contention for the College Football Playoff.

That said, Deion to Dallas is a terrible idea.

Not all college coaches are destined to thrive in the NFL. Sanders is a great recruiter and motivator, but is he ready to learn the ins and outs of coaching at the professional level? Would his ego translate to an NFL locker room? Would he be willing to relinquish his influence on personal decisions? Are he and Shedeur a package? If so, the idea is dead on arrival as Dallas just paid Dak Prescott.

We’d love to be wrong, but our hunch tells us that Sanders is best suited at the college level. If he feels like he’s reached his ceiling in Colorado, there are plenty of powerful programs — like Florida State — that would back the brinks truck to hire him.

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