Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders has long said that he has no interest in coaching NFL athletes. But as speculation continues to heat up about a potential jump to the NFL, it was recently reported that Sanders does have an interest in coaching one NFL team in particular — the Las Vegas Raiders.
On Saturday, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Sanders has “significant interest” in the vacant Raiders coaching job. However, there is an obvious caveat, as Sanders recently revealed that he only wants to coach in the NFL if he is able to coach both of his sons, Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders, his two sons who have played for him at Colorado.
Las Vegas picks at No. 6 in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. Based on most mock drafts, the Raiders would almost certainly need to move up in the draft to select Shedeur, while Shilo should be available as a late-round option.
Whether it be coaching his son or potentially another quarterback in Las Vegas, former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson warned Coach Prime about looking into a coaching opportunity with the Raiders without a surefire quarterback option already in place.
“It sounds good,” said Johnson on Saturday’s edition of Nightcap. “It sounds real good. But I understand Prime knows best. Prime has been around the game of football for a very long time. You also know that if you do have interest in that head coaching job, you will also have a very short leash unless you have a quarterback.
“The greatest, the G.O.A.T., Primetime, will have a very short leash and Mark Davis will fire you as well. Even with the understanding that you have nothing to work with and you have no quarterback. Now if the situation is resolved and you have a veteran presence. Or maybe they so happen to find a way to go all the way up and go and get Shedeur. Now we’re talking.”
The obvious question here before Sanders even worries about who his quarterback would be is whether the Raiders are even reciprocating this interest that Sanders has back to him.
Well, according to Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic, the Raiders have “zero interest” in hiring Sanders. So Sanders’ interest may be irrelevant here.
Still, Johnson’s point remains a valid one if Sanders does indeed opt to coach in the NFL next season. We’ve seen countless coaches, including former Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, who have had limited success due to poor quarterback play which ultimately led to a short tenure.
Unless Sanders is confident that he can convince an NFL front office to bring both he and his sons along, he may ultimately just be better served to stay at the college game.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.