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Nick Saban to the Cowboys? Cam Newton outlines ‘master plan’ for Dallas involving Arch Manning
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Nick Saban stepped away from coaching a year ago. Former Saban foe Cam Newton is turning some heads with his new theory that the former Alabama coach will soon be the head man for the Dallas Cowboys.
Newton made the suggestion during Thursday’s edition of ESPN’s First Take. Assessing the Cowboys’ decision to hire Brian Schottenheimer, Newton suggested it’s a one-year plan to “tank” and give the 2026 Cowboys an SEC flavor of Saban coaching Arch Manning.
“I think they’re tanking for Arch. Make it make sense. Coach Schottenheimer has one-and-done written all over him,” Newton said Thursday. “Ok, why do you want one and done? You get the first pick of the draft. Not only that, I’m going to go back into my Godfather bag and say, ‘Ok, Jerry Jones is a businessman, and he’s going to get into his Don Corleone mentality and he’s going to give him a deal he can’t refuse. Who? Nick Saban. Go get Nick Saban as your head coach and Arch Manning as your No. 1 pick.’”
With the NFL yet to crown a Super Bowl champion for the 2024 season, it’s quite early to be making predictions for the 2025 order of finish before free agency. Dallas finished the 2024 season 7-10, missing the playoffs. The Cowboys were notably down Dak Prescott after a Week 9 hamstring injury. Prescott signed a 4-year deal in September for $240 million, with $231 million guaranteed.
Manning will be eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft, having completed 3 college football seasons in 2025. After seeing Manning make 10 appearances, including 2 starts, in 2024, the hype is through the roof for 2025, but we’re a long way out from knowing where he’ll be playing football in 2026.
Saban retired in January 2024 and appears to be enjoying his life as an ESPN analyst. Though Saban was mentioned for NFL jobs during his Alabama tenure, he completed 17 seasons with the Crimson Tide. Saban, who turns 74 in 2025, has NFL familiarity as a former defensive assistant with the Houston Oilers and Cleveland Browns and head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He posted a 15-17 record in 2 NFL seasons.
Schottenheimer, a Florida alumnus who was the Georgia offensive coordinator in 2015, has been on staff in Dallas since 2022.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
