The Dallas Cowboys are perceived as the most likely options for both Deion Sanders and Kellen Moore as head coach. Is there a clear front-runner?

The Dallas Cowboys were a late arrival to the coaching carousel, purely by their own doing. After blocking head coach Mike McCarthy from interviewing with the Chicago Bears, the two parties eventually walked away from the negotiating table.

McCarthy is a free agent, and Dallas needs a head coach. Let the games begin.

Needless to say, it didn’t take long before rumors of every top coaching candidate – valid or not – being considered by the Cowboys. Two perceived front-runners are dominating the Dallas discourse, and they couldn’t be any more different.

Cowboys fans are all saying and debating the same thing about Deion Sanders vs. Kellen Moore.

The latter is certainly more traditional. His offenses meshed well with quarterback Dak Prescott, he’s having success with the Philadelphia Eagles, and owner Jerry Jones has seen his work firsthand.

Sanders, though, shouldn’t be written off for his lack of NFL coaching experience. He helped turn Jackson State win a Southwestern Athletic Conference title and successfully brought his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and five-star recruit Travis Hunter to an HBCU.

His jump to Colorado wasn’t met with immediate success. But by the end of his second season, the Buffaloes were Alamo-Bowl bound, competing for a Big 12 championship, and playing host to Sanders and Hunter on their way to the top of the NFL Draft. It might not translate, but Sanders is turning around programs others couldn’t.

For now, he’s committed to Colorado. His dedication and his buyout might mean the Dallas connection – if it’s even sincere, as sources suggest to us it’s largely a negotiating ploy – faded.

Comparing him to Moore, though, is more philosophical than anything else. It’s rudimentary to wave off coaching criticisms because “we don’t know how it will work out.” But we, as a football-watching populace, don’t! Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell was laughed at, Arthur Smith was the hottest offensive coordinator on the market. McCarthy ripped off 12 wins in three consecutive seasons after a slumber party at the Jones’ house.

This is merely a matter of judging process, and both have valid – while vastly different – claims to the throne.

No one can tell you whether Sanders can turn around an NFL team with his status and ability to navigate the spotlight. The Los Angeles Chargers had the worst run game in football with Moore calling plays in 2023. Who knows how much Moore really means to a star-studded Philadelphia Eagles lineup?

Preferring one over the other is largely a matter of an appetite for the headlines. Sanders will come with the flair of “Coach Prime” and his tendency to be quotably blunt with the media.

Dallas will always be the center of the football world, but Sanders – who former coach Dave Campso says is “the smartest guy I ever coached” – will amplify the praise and the criticism.

Moore is undeniably more laid-back. He’s familiar with the local media and much of the current roster and his idea of a colorful word (his favorite) is “awesome.” He (likely) won’t create any unnecessary headlines with bold proclamations and controversial claims.

How well-prepared he is for the jump to head coach – our Mike Fisher notes that colleagues often refer to him as “the smartest guy in the room” – is yet to be seen.

At the end of the day, both are answering to the owner. Until Jones relinquishes that control and lets his head coaches reshape the organization in their vision, it might not matter who the Cowboys land at head coach.