Deion Sanders making another NFL legend consider coaching
By John Buhler
Deion Sanders’ early success in his coaching career has another NFL legend potentially interested in getting into the profession: His former San Francisco 49ers teammate, Jerry Rice.
Jerry Rice has seen what Deion Sanders has done at Jackson State and it has him very intrigued.
Rice starred at Mississippi Valley State before becoming the best wide receiver in NFL history, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers and later the then-Oakland Raiders. He was briefly teammates with Sanders during Prime’s one year with the 49ers. Rice gave his all to the game, but not until Sanders started turning heads at Jackson State did he even think about coaching.
“I feel like I played the game for such a long time and I was just totally committed,” said Rice to Kyle T. Mosley of Sports Illustrated. “I just poured everything into my career that I didn’t have anything left because as a coach you don’t really have a life. I mean, coaching, it is hard, man. It takes up the majority of your time…
“But yeah, it takes a total commitment. And you got to be all-in. So, it started to cross my mind just a little bit now.”
Could Rice join Coach Prime and Eddie George as the next big name to lead an HBCU program?
Jerry Rice has given coaching a thought after Deion Sanders’ HBCU success
Sanders might be changing the paradigm at Jackson State, but George taking over at Tennessee State in the same city he once starred in the Tennessee Titans backfield cannot be overlooked. Neither can former Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson taking over traditional HBCU power Grambling in 2022. If Rice were to join them in the coaching ranks, it will truly be a new era of ball.
Even more interesting, Sanders’ son Shedeur Sanders just won the Jerry Rice Award, which goes to the best freshman at the FCS level. The younger Sanders was a four-star quarterback recruit coming out of high school. He had originally committed to play for Willie Taggart at Florida Atlantic, but decided he needed to go do something special by playing for his father over at Jackson State.
If Rice were to ever get into coaching, his wealth of knowledge could be a total game-changer.
Next. Best college town in every state. dark
For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.