Deion Sanders has been at the University of Colorado for two full seasons now, and during his time there he’s made it pretty clear that he’s not looking to leave Boulder to take an NFL job. However, Sanders did reveal this week that there is one specific situation that would likely get him to make the jump to the NFL.
During an interview on “Good Morning America,” Sanders revealed his one condition for possibly taking an NFL job.
“The only way I would consider it is to coach my sons,” Sanders said.
Deion coached both of his sons — Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders — at Colorado, so if an NFL team wants to lure Deion away from Boulder, that team will have to add both brothers to their roster. On Shedeur’s end, he’s viewed as one of the top QB prospects in the draft this year and he’s almost certainly going to be a top-five pick.
As for Shilo, he finished the 2023 season with the ninth-most tackles by a defensive back in Colorado history, but the fact of the matter is that he might not even be drafted. If a team is trying to land both Shedeur and Shilo, then Shilo’s draft stock being low could actually be a good thing, because it would make it easier to land him either late in the draft or as an undrafted free agent.
So if Deion takes an NFL job where he could coach his two sons, which teams would make sense? Let’s check out the top three.
There are so many connections here that it would be almost surprising if this DOESN’T happen. For one, Shedeur has been hinting for the past few months that he would like the Raiders to draft him. Also, let’s not forget about the fact that Deion told former Raiders coach Antonio Pierce that he wanted the Raiders to draft both Shedeur and Shilo. That conversation happened back in December when Pierce still had a job, but he’s since been fired, which now opens the door for Deion to also join his sons in Las Vegas. The Raiders also fired general manager Tom Telesco on Jan. 9, so if Deion were go to go Vegas, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting into a power struggle with an incumbent GM.
And let’s not forget about Tom Brady; he’s going to have a say in who the next quarterback is and who the next head coach is, which is a good thing for the Sanders family. According to Yahoo Sports, Brady has a very high opinion of Shedeur. The only problem with this scenario is that the Raiders have the sixth overall pick in the NFL Draft and they would likely have to trade up to land Shedeur.
The Titans have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and they need a quarterback, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see them take Shedeur. In that situation, if the Titans struggle during Shedeur’s rookie year, that could lead them to fire Brian Callahan. If that happens, the Titans would be in the market for a new head coach in 2026 and that’s where Deion would come in. The Titans have already proven that they’re willing to fire anyone at any time with one head coach (Mike Vrabel) and two general managers (Jon Robinson and Ran Carthon) fired over the past 25 months. If owner Amy Adams-Strunk believes that pairing Shedeur with his dad would help the franchise, then it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see her let Callahan go if the Titans crash out in 2025.
Deion Sanders in the Big Apple? It’s not as far-fetched as it seems. The Giants need a quarterback and they have the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, which would make it easy for them to land Shedeur. Although Brian Daboll will be returning as coach in 2025, he’s going to be on a short leash, so if the Giants struggle again next season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see owner John Mara dump his head coach (and his general manager, for that matter). If the coach and GM are gone, that would likely make this a very enticing landing spot for Deion, who could take full control of the organization.
The Browns could also be an option, but Deion has said that he won’t let his son go to a dysfunctional organization, so it would be interesting to hear how he would potentially feel about his son going to Cleveland.
Wild-card option: Cowboys
Deion returning to Dallas as the head coach? We can dream … but this one almost certainly isn’t happening. The biggest issue here is that the Cowboys already have a quarterback in Dak Prescott. The Cowboys would have to figure out a way to trade Dak away, which wouldn’t be easy due to his contract. Also, the Cowboys have the 12th overall pick, which would make it almost impossible to land Shedeur.
Of course, it’s also possible that Deion just stays at Colorado.
“I love Colorado. I love my Buffaloes,” Deion said in his “GMA” interview. “I love everything we’re building, I love everything we’re doing. I love Boulder, Colorado. I do.”
Deion might love Boulder, but he loves his sons more and it’s pretty clear that if the right opportunity comes up, he’d be willing to coach them in the NFL.
