Surprising Number Of NFL Execs Believe Deion Sanders Will Receive Interview Requests This Offseason
It's not just the overwhelming majority of college football fans buying into the Deion Sanders hype, NFL executives are sipping the Kool-Aid as well.
The Athletic polled a total of 10 "high-ranking team decision-makers" to get a gauge on the NFL's opinion of the Colorado head coach, and seven of them said that Sanders would receive interview requests during this upcoming offseason's head-coach hiring cycle.
Of the 10 executives who were polled, not a single one ruled out the idea of Sanders getting calls this offseason, but instead said it was "too early to make a prediction.
"Several of the executives characterized Sanders as a CEO-type of head coach who can oversee the operation from a grander scale, which is an important characteristic for a head coach," Jeff Howe of The Athletic wrote.
Deion Sanders will get calls from the NFL this offseason, according so some league executives. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
Deion Sanders To The NFL? Some Say Sooner Rather Than Later
While that characterization is accurate given that Sanders has hired a strong group of assistant coaches to handle more of the day-to-day operations of the Colorado program, we're still talking about a man who has coached exactly three games of Power Five college football.
In those three games, and even during his three seasons at Jackson State, Sanders has shown that he may very well be the greatest motivator to ever step foot in a locker room, but there are countless examples of highly motivated, completely proven college coaches making the leap to the NFL and falling directly on their face in a hurry.
“I’d definitely want to bring him in to hear what he has to say,” an executive said. “He’s a smart guy and a good coach who has had a lot of early success. You’d want to pick his brain to see if it could translate. He knows how to motivate his players. He’s crushed the transfer portal, and maybe that would carry over into team building through free agency.”
Deion Sanders could have an NFL coaching future. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
Would Deion Sanders' Motivation Tactics Work In The NFL?
Sanders' 'they made it personal' coaching tactic he's presented in each of the first three weeks of the regular season has worked thus far, but it's hard to imagine it working in the NFL filled with the best coaches and players on the planet.
I'm fully aware the NFL executives who were polled simply said that Sanders would likely receive some calls, which is far different than any of them predicting he'd be offered a head coaching gig, but that doesn't make the results of the poll any less mindblowing.
There are two key takeaways we can take away from the results of the poll, in my opinion.
The first is that Sanders is the greatest marketer in the history of sports. The man is a media savant. He's coached three games at Colorado, with the win at TCU being the only truly impressive one, and he's got seven NFL executives predicting he'll get head coaching hires in a few months.
Secondly, maybe some of these NFL executives shouldn't be NFL executives. The three of the 10 who said it's too early to tell if Sanders could, or should, receive a phone call this offseason have it right. The seven who are already predicting he'll be called to be interviewed may want to take the slightest step back and not present the greatest form of recency bias we've seen in quite some time.