Deion Sanders is the only person who can save the Cowboys
This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Prince Grimes on Deion Sanders being the Cowboys' savior.
The Dallas Cowboys have interest in hiring Deion Sanders as their next head coach. Sanders all but confirmed as much when he told ESPN about his conversation with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, calling the opportunity “intriguing.”
The early connection has been enough to elevate Sanders to betting favorite to become Dallas’ next coach. Cowboys insider Ed Werder reported that Sanders would almost certainly accept the job if Jones offers it. For the sake of the team’s fans, he’d better. Sanders might be the only person who can save them.
For the last 30 years since Dallas won the Super Bowl in 1994, the team has been stuck in a state of arrested development, unable to advance further than the second round of the playoffs no matter how good it looks in the regular season. You can point to different reasons in different years, but the only constant in that time has been Jones, who continues to hold significant influence over the roster and team operations.
That power he so proudly wields is likely what’s been holding Dallas back. Just ask the players who complained to ESPN about the intrusive fan facility tours that Jones doesn’t seem to think is a problem, probably because they make him money. Or ask the quarterback who helped Jones win his only Super Bowl titles, Troy Aikman.
“As far as a coveted job, I don’t know that that’s accurate,” Aikman said on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown after the team split with Mike McCarthy. “I do think the Cowboys are obviously a high-profile team. Whoever is head coach of that team is certainly going to draw a lot of attention. But I think most football people that take over as a head coach, they want to do it on their terms. And that’s hard to do.”
You don’t have to read too deep into Aikman’s words to understand his point. Coaching the Cowboys doesn’t come on your terms. It comes with a sacrifice of some control.
So, what would it take for that to change? It’s possible there’s nothing that can make Jones give up decision-making for the team he’s owned since 1989. He was, after all, the owner when they won those three Super Bowls in the 90s. But if there was one thing that might persuade Jones to take a backseat, it’d be a hot coaching candidate who happens to also be one of the best players in Cowboys history who Jones has a personal relationship with. Someone he feels like he can trust. Someone like Deion Sanders.
It wouldn't be a first-time head coach like Kellen Moore, whom Jones likely already knows he can control from his previous stint in Dallas. Or a veteran coach like Bill Belichick, who would only clash with Jones over different decisions. It’d be the guy who knows how to massage Jones’ ego and make him feel like his input is valued, even when it’s not. Or, better yet, someone whose input Jones values.
Whether or not Sanders can actually be a good head coach at the professional level is another question. But he proved his mettle in the college ranks, leading Jackson State to back-to-back Black college football national championship games before taking a broken, one-win Colorado program to nine wins and a bowl game in just two years. He deserves the opportunity to find out.
Cowboys fans should hope Jones is doing everything he can to give Sanders that opportunity. It may be the best chance they have at saving their team.
Hide your goalies from Alex Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin broke a record last night. Not the record, but a record, Mike Sykes writes. Though I'd argue that this record Ovi broke might be just as impressive as Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record. If it's not, it's certainly close.
The Great 8 scored the game-winning goal in an overtime thriller against the Senators.
With that goal, Ovechkin has now passed Jaromir Jagr for the most goalies scored on in NHL history with 179. Y'all. Do you know how impressive that is?
I mean, put it this way. Imagine holding the record in the NBA for most defenders dunked on. Or, how about the MLB, with most pitchers you went yard on. Or in the NFL, you're a wide receiver and you've got the record for most corners burned deep.
Ovi now holds that record in the NHL. Sheesh.
21 goals til Gretzky. It's coming.
We're Unrivaled today
Today is the day, folks. Unrivaled is officially launching on Friday at 7 p.m. with an opening matchup between the Mist and Lunar Owls.
Check out the full schedule here
The new 3-on-3 hasn't even played its first game yet and is already setting the bar for women's sports through its facilities and amenities made available to its players. It's clear that the priority for the league is investing in its players in a way the WNBA just hasn't been able to do so far as a whole
Meg Hall dives deeper into that here:
"WNBA players have made it abundantly clear that investment matters. They want to see their worth reflected in facilities, resources and support. This ongoing discussion amongst players is an active WNBA trend heavily influencing free agency decisions.
Sure, the argument is that amenities like these are easier for 36 players than for 156 players in the W. But league owners have the money to invest and need to find deeper pockets for their players.
If a player isn’t part of franchises like the Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury, Seattle or Golden State Valkyries, they might be hard-pressed to find technologically advanced facilities readily available or spaces they don’t have to share."
We still need to see how the league performs. Surely, there will be some kinks in the road for this new operation. But Unrivaled has already laid down its foundation and it's seemingly pretty solid. And it also looks a whole lot better than what we've seen up until this point.
Photo Friday: Ja's non-poster poster
I know I said this dunk isn't a poster dunk. And I stand by that. But I can't lie — this photo is awesome. Esoecially from this angle.
An MVP debate ... The best TikToks ever ... and more
— We debated whether Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson is the MVP of the NFL ahead of their matchup this weekend. Seems that Allen is the guy — at least in FTW's eyes.
— Caroline Darney rounded up some of the best TikToks ever for you before the platform goes away completely.
— Tom Brady is locked in at Fox. At least, according to his agent, anyway. Charles Curtis has more.
— Here are our staff picks against the spread for the NFL Divisional Round. It's going to be a fascinating football weekend, folks.
— RIP David Lynch. Charles Curtis rounded up six movies you need to watch after his death.
— Christian D'Andrea eulogized Bob Uecher like only Christian can. This is amazing.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate you for tapping in with us. Have a fantastic weekend. Peace.
-Prince & Sykes ✌️