Deion Sanders has insisted he has no interest in coaching at the NFL level, but that almost certainly will not stop teams from trying to change his mind.
Jeff Howe of The Athletic spoke with 10 high-ranking NFL executives to gauge how much interest there is in Sanders at the pro level. Of those 10, seven predicted that Sanders will receive interview requests during the next head-coach hiring cycle. The other three said it was too early to make that prediction, though they did not rule it out.
One executive told Howe that he would “definitely want to bring (Sanders) in to hear what he has to say.”
“He knows how to motivate his players,” the decision-maker said. “He’s crushed the transfer portal, and maybe that would carry over into team building through free agency.”
Another executive complimented Sanders for putting people in position to maximize their skills without micromanaging. Several of the execs said Sanders has CEO-like qualities and has shown he can oversee things, which is an important trait to have when coaching in the NFL. The fact that Sanders is a Hall of Famer who played at a high level in the NFL is viewed as a factor that might separate him from other coaches who have failed when jumping from college to the NFL.
One general manager said Sanders might be better off remaining in college, where he can “dominate” for years.
“I just think Deion can dominate for an extended time in college,” the GM told Howe. “He’ll have to deal with parity in the NFL. He might not have the same impact (in the NFL that) he has in college because he will be limited in how many guys he can bring in and attract because of the cap and draft.”
As far as Sanders is concerned, none of those opinions matter. The Colorado coach gave a simple five-word response recently when asked about coaching in the NFL.
Sanders has Colorado off to a 3-0 start after the Buffaloes had just one win a season ago. He has rebuilt the roster in an incredibly brief amount of time, which will likely appeal to NFL teams that need to make a splash.
