Stephen A. Smith’s Bold Idea to Fix Cowboys Includes Tanking, Deion Sanders and New QB

The ESPN pundit believes the Cowboys need a complete makeover.

Stephen A. Smith has bold ideas for the Dallas Cowboys / First Take X Accoun

The Dallas Cowboys are a complete dumpster fire in 2024 and Stephen A. Smith has been gleefully celebrating their demise. The ESPN pundit has long made a running joke out of his distaste for the Cowboys and always makes a scene when they lose, as they did this past Sunday after an embarrassing 34-6 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

On Monday's edition of First Take Smith broke character and gave an earnest effort at finding a cure for the woes the Cowboys suffer each and every year. His plan? Tank this season, fire Mike McCarthy to hire Deion Sanders, and select Shedur Sanders with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

Easy enough, right?

"I believe that the Dallas Cowboys should tank the rest of the rest of the season, get the No. 1 overall pick so you can draft Shedur Sanders, and, by the way, hire Prime Time Deion Sanders as your head coach for the Dallas Cowboys," Smith said to Paul Finebaum and Shannon Sharpe. "I think that should be Jerry Jones's master plan... Hire Prime Time Deion Sanders. You gotta tank the season to make sure you can get his son as your quarterback. And you move forward that way."

"I believe that the Dallas Cowboys should tank the rest of the season, get the No. 1 overall pick so you can draft Sheduer Sanders and ... hire Prime Time Deion Sanders as your head coach."

—@stephenasmith 👀 pic.twitter.com/4ZQuLptwM6

— First Take (@FirstTake) November 11, 2024

Certainly an ambitious plan.

Tanking the 2024 season, either on purpose or by accident, is not out of the question even as Week 10 wraps up. The Cowboys are 3-6 and Dak Prescott is likely done for the year. Sunday's catastrophe dashed any hope that Cooper Rush or Trey Lance would be good enough for the team to be competitive. There are still worse teams around the NFL (the Titans are going to be hard to pass for the top pick) but through poor play and plenty of injury misfortune Dallas is in a position to earn the highest draft pick the franchise has enjoyed in many years.

Using that pick on a quarterback after signing Prescott to a $240 million deal in September would be a controversial decision. And while Sanders has done a tremendous job with the Colorado Buffaloes this season (and McCarthy faces calls for his job every week) there's still a significant risk factor hiring a rookie NFL head coach. Even Prime Time Deion Sanders.

Of course, dramatic change will not come if owner Jerry Jones doesn't believe it necessary. And if his opinion on curtains for AT&T Stadium are any indication, Cowboys fans shouldn't hold their breath that Jones will follow Smith's drastic blueprint.

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