If Jerry Jones wants to capture the big fish, he is going to have to do something he’s never done in his life.
And that’s step away from the spotlight and not be the star of his own show.
That’s what the Dallas Cowboys owner will have to do if he wants to hire Deion Sanders.
Step out of the way, and let Primetime do his thing.
ESPN’s Louis Riddick doesn’t think Jones has that in him.
While Riddick understands that there is a business component, as well as a professional component when it comes to Jones and Sanders having mutual interest in one another, he believes only one half of that equation makes sense.
“There’s the business and then there’s the profession,” Riddick said.
“Look, from the business standpoint, this has a lot of people excited and I get it. I understand why.
“These are two of the biggest personalities in American sports, in the history of American sports for obviously different reasons.
“But then there’s the profession.
“See, I know Deion the professional as well as the businessman. But I know him even more so as the professional. This is just not a match to me that seems like it makes a whole lot of sense from a professional standpoint.
“Deion is the ultimate alpha – the ultimate alpha. He has his hands on every single part of the Colorado football team and of the Colorado football organization.”
Riddick made it clear that Sanders won’t have nearly the control in Dallas that he currently has as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes.
“He won’t have the same kind of influence in Dallas,” Riddick said. “We all know this.
“We understand what head coaches are up against when they’re going and working for Jerry Jones and working with the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s a unique situation and a situation that probably, on its surface, looks a lot differently than it does once you get in it and once you’re kind of going through the motions every single day.”
As has always been the case with Jones and his franchise, Jones wants to be the star.
Jerry loves Jerry.
The only problem here, is that Deion loves Deion just the same, if not more.
It would be a clash of two of the biggest personalities in sports and a wrestle for power and control, something that Riddick believes Jones isn’t ready to give up.
“There’s been no indication whatsoever given by Jerry Jones that he’s willing to pivot and go in a different direction as far as, philosophically, how he wants to run his organization – none.
“As a matter of fact, he has dug his heels in even more.
“He said, and I’m paraphrasing, but he said that he bought the team so he can run it, so he can be the boss, so he can be the figurehead, so he can be the guy who’s making all the decisions and that’s what comes with having billions of dollars and being able to do that.
“Has he given you any indication that he’s willing to say, ‘Hey, you know what, Deion? I’ll let you sit with me and I’ll let you reevaluate every single aspect of the football operation and tweak it how you want it, tweak it how you did at Colorado, how you turned that morbid university, from a football program perspective, into someone now and into a program now that is doing millions and millions of viewers for every Saturday simply because you’re there, because you made them better.
“He’s given no indication that he’s willing to allow someone like that to come in there and do that.”
Riddick is right.
And until there’s any evidence that Jones is willing to cede some of his power and stardom to Sanders, then these talks and mutual interest with one another, are as good as dead.
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