Jackson State head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders has been nothing short of sensational since arriving in Jackson, Mississippi, in September 2020. Therefore, his time at the school has been filled with rumors of his departure to become a head coach of a prestigious Power Five school.
The latest has Coach Prime assuming the helm at Arizona State on the heels of Herman Edwards’ firing.
Does ASU reach out to Deion Sanders? 🤔
— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) September 18, 2022
Sanders has revived a moribund JSU program in a quick turnaround. In his first full season the legendary cornerback guided the Tigers to an 11-2 record and SWAC championship, its first since 2007, and an appearance in the Celebration Bowl, which is the de facto Black college football national championship.
Fast-forward to his second full season, and Sanders hasn’t slowed down one bit after landing Travis Hunter, the nation’s No. 1 overall ranked recruit. Sanders then added a second top-50 recruit in Kevin Coleman, making JSU the first FCS program to ever land two top-50 recruits in the same recruiting class.
Sanders wasn’t done, as he added 16 ready-to-help transfers and a new offensive coordinator in Brett Bartolone. That has helped the Tigers get off to a 3-0 start by outscoring FAMU, Tennessee State and Grambling State by a combined 141-30.
That, plus the Coach Prime brand, once again has his name in the middle of rumors, despite his consistent stance that he isn’t leaving Jackson, Mississippi before his work is completed.
TCU Wants Deion Sanders To Come To The Big 12| The King Isn’t Leaving A Half-Built Empire
While there is no shortage of quality choices, none of them check all the boxes like Coach Prime. From a recruiting, marketing, development and revenue standpoint he’s been on point since his arrival at the HBCU.
Football Scoop had this to say about why Sanders would be a perfect fit for the ASU job.
“Coach Prime, though, seemingly brings the total package…Sanders is a former standout-pro athlete in both Major League Baseball and the NFL.
“The Arizona State campus is some dozen miles from downtown Phoenix, and entertainment options are hardly lacking in the Valley of the Sun.
“Recruiting, because prep football is excellent in the area, also isn’t lacking in the region for the right coach.”
Is Sanders Willing To Leave JSU? In March He Sounded Like Someone Who’s Happy There
Sanders’ playing days in the NFL and MLB have allowed him to live a pretty lavish lifestyle. He can do whatever he wants because he’s put in the work and is now reaping all the rewards. But for him that doesn’t mean he’s leaving JSU. He’s already explained his commitment to the school and the entire HBCU community involves way more than just football and results. While he did interview for a couple Power Five gigs last year and his name surfaced for jobs at TCU, USC and eve the Dallas Cowboys, he’s locked in at JSU.
A thread of CFB hires that are intriguing, funny and in the realm of possibility but probably won’t happen in 2022.
Arizona State head coach Deion Sanders
— Cyrus Smith (@CoolCyWrites) August 8, 2022
In a March interview with “Thee Pre-Game Show,” Sanders says he understands that success brings interest, but he had this to say about his focus at the moment.
“Now, don’t think I don’t hear the echoes of what’s Coach Prime going to do?” Is he going to leave? Is he going to stay? Is he going to do this, do that? Don’t think I don’t hear that. Let me address that.
“I’m happy where I am. It’s a calling where I am. God didn’t give me a timetable. He said. You’ve got to go be there for how long. He told me to do what, He asked me to do it and do it at a high level.
“Now, I don’t know the timetable for any of that, so I’m not going to tell anybody the timetable. I don’t know. God hasn’t given me the timetable for those instructions, but what I do concern myself with is my coaching staff. I feel like I have a phenomenal coaching staff and they’re coaching their butts off. I’m trying to find ways to compensate them even more because they’ve outcoached their salaries.”
Sanders seems to be focused on his staff, players and not to mention his children who also either attend JSU or work with the football program.
“Say I took a job at a Power Five. That does not change my lifestyle. That doesn’t do anything for me, I’m good. God has sustained me, I’m good. But it does for them. So I’m trying to do things to create more revenue at an HBCU so I can stabilize my guys.”
Shedeur, Shilo, And Shelomi Are Student-Athletes At JSU
With his son Shedeur guiding the JSU offense, son Shilo as the leader in the secondary, and his daughter Shelomi set to play her first season with the Lady Tigers basketball team, Coach Prime has all the personal investment in JSU that one man could. He’s not going anywhere. No matter how much his name comes up in Tempe, Lincoln or maybe even down at Auburn, where head coach Brian Harsin is coaching for his job weekly.
When the time is right, the expectancy is Coach Prime could move on to a bigger job, but if he keeps landing these types of recruits, he won’t have to. He’s not on a mission to grab the most lucrative coaching job and become part of a system that already makes his job building Jackson State’s program very challenging. His ultimate goal is to be able to compete with the Power Five programs. If he pulls that off, he can basically pick any job in the country not named Alabama.
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