Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan believes Jerry Jones should hire his former player-turned-coach Deion Sanders to turn around the Dallas Cowboys next season.

With Dak Prescott out for the rest of the season following surgery and the Cowboys sitting third in the NFC East with a 3-6 record, Mike McCarthy’s tenure as head coach appears over. The Cowboys were crushed in Dallas on Sunday, falling 34-6 to their bitter rival Philadelphia Eagles.

The 60-year-old, who won Super Bowl XLV with the Green Bay Packers, is coaching the Cowboys on an expiring contract. He entered the season with a win percentage of 62.7 percent – the highest career win percentage of any coach in team history – while he guided Dallas to two NFC East titles in the past three years.

Under McCarthy, the Cowboys have tallied at least 12 wins for three seasons in a row – the second stretch of such success in franchise history after the 1990s dynasty which won three Super Bowls in four seasons. But regular season success has failed to translate to the playoffs, as the Cowboys are 1-3 in the playoffs over his four years at the helm.

Now, the Cowboys season is all but over before Thanksgiving. Jones is desperate to win a Super Bowl for the first time since 1995, and perhaps Sanders holds the key.

There has been a trend of teams hiring former players to coach, with Dan Campbell leading the Detroit Lions, DeMeco Ryans at the Houston Texans, and Jerod Mayo with the New England Patriots. As a result, Ryan suggested the Colorado head coach could be the perfect fit for the Cowboys.

“Deion Sanders may be in play here,” Ryan said on ESPN’s ‘Get Up’. “They need something. They need to have somebody that has the pride in that organization. Being a Dallas Cowboy, the pride you take in it, and by the way, Deion everywhere he’s been has been kicking you know what.

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Deion Sanders' son Shedeur is expected to be one of the first names called in the 2025 NFL Draft

Deion Sanders’ son Shedeur is expected to be one of the first names called in the 2025 NFL Draft ( 

Image:

AP)

“Jackson State, they were unbelievable when he was there. He takes Colorado, right now they’re 7-2. Nobody saw that coming. They’re playing in the Big 12… I’m just saying because Mike McCarthy is a good football coach but he’s going to be out the door, there’s no doubt about it. The whole thing’s going to be blown up.

“But watch what happens. They need that. How are you going to get this kid back on board? He’s going to have to respect the guy that comes into that building. You not going to respect Deion Sanders? He was twice the player you were – and I coached Deion Sanders. He was a great teammate.”

Sanders is considered one of the best athletes in sports history after sensationally starring in both the NFL and MLB during his playing days. He was brought to Colorado to turn the program around, and in his first season last year, the Buffaloes slipped to a 4-8 record after a hot start.

However, Colorado is excelling in 2024. Led by his son and quarterback Shedeur as well as two-way phenom Travis Hunter, the Buffaloes are 7-2 and sit second in the Big 12 following a crushing 41-27 win on Saturday.