ESPN's Dan Graziano reveals two key factors to make Deion Sanders an NFL coaching candidate

Deion Sanders to the NFL has become all the rage at ESPN and other media networks, with Colorado’s success in 2024 prompting discussion about his coaching future.

There’s a myriad of factors that make Sanders an attractive candidate for professional football franchises. ESPN’s Dan Graziano tried to make sense of it during Friday’s edition of Get Up, where he highlighted two key factors.

“I think that’s one of two things that will make him appealing to NFL teams. The ability to relate clearly to the modern athlete, the modern young athlete, and also, when NFL teams hire college coaches, it’s because they identify them as successful program builders,” Graziano explained. “We’ve seen Deion Sanders be that, in a short period of time, in two different places.

“So, because of his NFL pedigree, because of the way he does communicate with his players, because of the fact we saw him do it at Jackson State, we saw him do it at Colorado, that’s the kind of thing that gets you hired, or at least looked at, by NFL teams when you’re a college coach.”

While Sanders has Colorado in the College Football Playoff conversation, it does feel a little early to think of him as an NFL coach. Still, you’d rather be early than late to the party when it comes to these types of things.

If a franchise views him in a similar vein to Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions, a former player capable of making the jump and elevating a franchise, they might have to make the move.

Additionally, there’s an interesting caveat with Sanders involving his son, Colorado quarterback and top-ranked draft prospect Shedeur Sanders.

Perhaps a team sees the success the pairing has brought to Boulder and would prefer to package them together in the NFL. It’s not a sure thing, but it would make sense considering their relationship and history of winning at the collegiate level.

Regardless, Deion Sanders has proven to be one of the top coaches in college football in 2024, and the way he’s rebuilt Colorado is nothing short of remarkable. It remains to be seen what the future holds, but Coach Prime might have some job offers to consider at the end of the season.