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Champ Bailey sees Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders jumping to the NFL when he receives an offer. However, he never saw a potential “match” when Sanders was linked to his former NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys.
The Hall of Fame defensive back once upon a time teamed up with Sanders in Washington back in 2000, prior to Sanders’ first retirement. Although Bailey is best known for his Denver Broncos tenure, he spent the first five seasons (1999-2003) of his career with the now-Washington Commanders franchise. Bailey says once his former teammate gets a “serious” offer, he’ll take on his first NFL coaching gig.
“I think he’ll take them when he gets an offer or a serious offer,” says Bailey in a one-on-one interview on behalf of his partnership with Trulieve. “I don’t feel like he’s really got a formal offer yet. I know his name’s been thrown around, but did he do an interview? Did he do any interviews? He talked to Jerry, but it wasn’t serious. He could talk to Jerry next week, so that’s nothing to me unless you get a formal interview.”
The Cowboys obviously decided to go in a different direction, hiring offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. Schottenheimer is already familiar with how Dallas runs their organization and how team owner Jerry Jones likes to run things. Considering Jones likes to be in control, Bailey doesn’t see the “match” in a potential Jones-Sanders pairing.
“I told somebody who asked me this question, and I was like, ‘Well, he’d be a great hire. He’d be a great person to add to your locker room.’ I was surprised that it was going to be potentially the Cowboys,” says Bailey. “From a marketing perspective, I get it. But I just know Jerry Jones, he likes to be in control and so does Deion. When it boils down to it, never saw that match coming.”
While Bailey himself doesn’t see the match, he doesn’t rule it out from possibly happening down the road. As mentioned before, Sanders played for Jones’ Cowboys from 1995 until 1999, winning a ring there at the conclusion of the 1995 season.
“Who knows? As we know, it’s coaching carousel,” says Bailey. “Ask Jerod Mayo (former New England Patriots head coach) how quickly this thing can change up. His opportunities to be out there, it sounds like he wants them. Let’s see if they want him — and I think they should.”
Bailey is actually familiar with Schottenheimer, considering the son of Marty Schottenheimer served as the quarterback’s coach with Washington during the 2001 season when his father was the team’s head coach.
Although the 51-year-old landed his first offensive coordinator gig in 2006, 2025 will mark his first head coaching job in the NFL.
“It’s funny, when Deion left the Redskins at the time, that’s when Marty Schottenheimer came in, and I think Brian was on our staff,” says Sanders. “He was on our staff, but he was much younger, and it’s just funny how...
