FORT WORTH, Texas — Jerry Jones calling Deion Sanders to gather his thoughts about becoming the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys is why JJ is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

News of the phone call generated the attention that PT Jerry craves. The call checked a critical box off the list in the immediate stages of a coaching search that may take weeks, and will infuriate millions.

And, it may help land Deion a raise from the University of Colorado. Deion is never above dancing for another zero on a check.

In yet another example of how smart I am, on Sept. 6, 2023 I wrote, “Dallas Cowboys head coach Deion Sanders’ is just so dumb, you have to consider it.”

(Let’s not go over my list of losses; that list is bigger than the Pentagon).

Mike McCarthy’s exit as the coach of the Cowboys creates not just a job opening, but a news cycle that could break Google.

By calling Deion, Jerry and the Cowboys have satisfied the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which says that teams must interview minority candidates for the job. This is a recurring theme every offseason as the NFL continues to lag in terms of hiring Black head coaches.

That a Jerry phone call to Deion qualifies as an interview, or remote consideration, illustrates what a sham process this often is. This is on the same level as what the New England Patriots recently pulled.

When the Patriots fired first-year coach Jerod Mayo, who is Black, after the end of the 2024 season, the team proudly announced it interviewed current NFL assistant coaches, Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton. The team predictably hired former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

In Jerry’s long ownership of the Cowboys, he has done just about everything, good and bad, but he has never named a Black head coach. Coordinators, yes. Director of player personnel, yes. Not the head coach.

A phone call to Deion should not qualify for an interview, but this is the NFL. Soon enough an DM on IG will suffice.

After the Cowboys did not bring back Jason Garrett after the 2019 season, the team only interviewed a small number of candidates, which included former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. That was the Rooney Rule interview.

When Bill Parcells left after the 2006 season, the Cowboys interviewed every coach from Irving to India. This included Mike Singletary and Jim Caldwell, both minority candidates. Singletary, never one to run from his opinion, stated that he felt the only reason he was interviewed was because he is Black.

Jerry is not hiring Deion, and it has zero to do with the color of his skin, and more to do with the zeroes.

When Deion signed a five-year contract to become the head coach at Colorado in 2022, the deal included a buyout of $8 million. Jerry is not paying $8 million just for the ability to hire a man who has never won a game as an NFL head coach.

And Deion would rather swallow four gallons of humility rather than finance that $8 million himself.

Deion told ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter on Monday night: “To hear from Jerry Jones is truly delightful, and it’s intriguing. I love Jerry and believe in Jerry. After you hang up, and process it, and think about it, it’s intriguing. But I love Boulder and everything there is about our team, the coaches, our student body and the community.”

Deion said a few times during CU’s 2024 season that he has no interest in leaving; “I’ve got a kickstand down,” he told reporters, back in November.

Deion has known Jerry well since he famously signed a seven-year, $35 million contract as a free agent with the Cowboys in 1995, which included a then record $12.9 million signing bonus. Jerry did the deal on his own, and it resulted in a fight with his son, team VP Stephen Jones. Deion was a Cowboy for five years, won a Super Bowl, and was then off to his next team.

Schefter asked Deion what is next, to which the coach said, “I don’t know.”

Deion just got played, only he has no problem with it. Deion’s answer to Schefter is non-committal, which is empty leverage that his employer will accommodate.

The Buffaloes are 13-12 in his two seasons in Boulder, which includes a 9-4 record in ‘24. This was Colorado’s best season since 2016, and for a while it looked like it would reach the Big 12 title game. The team collapsed late, and was blown out by BYU in the Alamo Bowl.

Even before Colorado hired Deion, he has repeatedly said he does not want to coach in the NFL.

“Not one bit,” Deion told 60 Minutes in a 2023 interview. “It’s hard for me to coach a person that makes a lot of money that does not truly love the game that blessed me.”

The only potential scenario of coaching in the NFL that Deion has reportedly entertained is the chance to coach his sons, quarterback Shedeur and defensive back Shilo. Both are expected to be selected in this year’s draft.

For the Cowboys to draft Shedeur, they would have dump quarterback Dak Prescott, which would mean living with about $100 million in dead cap space. Then they would have to move up from their current draft slot, 12th, and hope Shedeur is there.

There are too many pieces to make Dallas Cowboys head coach Deion Sanders a possibility. But it sure is fun to discuss, and the phone call satisfies the Rooney Rule.

PT Jerry wins again.

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