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Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman blasted his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, after they opted to allow former head coach Mike McCarthy's contract to expire.
Aikman, who spent his entire playing career in Dallas and now serves as the Monday Night Football in-game analyst, addressed the situation on the Monday Night Countdown pregame show prior to the live broadcast of the NFC Wild Card Round playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, Monday (January 13) night.
"Well, I thought Mike McCarthy would be the head coach, so this is a bit of a surprise for me today that he's not going to be," Aikman said. "It suggests that there's not a real plan. The fact that they haven't had the opportunity to interview [Detroit Lions offensive coordinator] Ben Johnson and some of these others, [Lions defensive coordinator] Aaron Glenn. ... [former Cowboys and current Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator] Kellen Moore being a candidate seems logical to me: a guy who has familiarity with the building. He worked obviously with the Cowboys and with [team owner] Jerry Jones. In fact when Mike McCarthy got the job, it was told to Mike that Kellen would be the offensive coordinator, so that's how much the Jones family thinks of him. Beyond that, it's hard to imagine. As as a coveted job, I don't know that that's accurate."
McCarthy led the Cowboys to a 7-10 record in 2024, missing the playoffs for the first time since his first season with the franchise in 2020. Aikman's comments came shortly before reports that Pro Football Hall of Famer and current University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders is reportedly "considered a top candidate" for the Cowboys' head coaching position, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to FOX Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz Monday (January 13) night.
"Sources: #Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has spoken with Colorado HC Deion Sanders about the team’s head coaching vacancy, and discussions are expected to continue regarding the possibility of him becoming the next head coach in Dallas. Coach Prime is considered a top candidate, though the Cowboys plan to interview other candidates as part of the process, per team sources," Schultz wrote on his X account. "Sources: Jerry Jones and Deion Sanders have spoken, and while a formal interview hasn’t been scheduled yet, there is mutual interest. My understanding is that the two are going to stay in contact on this."
Sanders played on the Cowboys for five seasons of his Hall of Fame career, which included being a member of the franchise's last Super Bowl team. The legendary cornerback went 13-12 (8-10 in conference play) during his two seasons at Colorado, which includes a 9-4 (7-2 Big 12 Conference) finish in 2024, two years after the team went 1-11 (1-8 Pac-12) under his predecessor Karl Dorrell and 27-6 (19-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) during three seasons at Jackson State from 2020 to 2022.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer is credited for developing two-way superstar Travis Hunter into a Heisman Trophy winner in 2024, as well as both Hunter and his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, into two of the top prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.