How Deion Sanders Feels About Former NFL Players Becoming Coaches
Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders, himself a Hall of Fame former NFL defensive end and wide receiver, was a recent guest on former journeyman NFL guard Matt McChesney's Bleav show the Zero 2 Sixty Podcast.
He spoke at length about the advent of having former NFL players, like himself, serve as head coaches at the college level.
"Building an environment where these guys have matriculated from the NFL as a culture, as a player, [ex-NFL players] come to really give these guys direction," Sanders said. "It's hard to tell a guy where to go that you had been. Those directions are tough. 'I'll try to tell you where to go and how to get there. Ain't been there myself.' That's that's kind of tough."
"What a definitive voice that I've been there, done that. Just shut up and listen. I could get you there, I could navigate you there," Sanders added. "And that's such a huge point with this generation, you know, that 'I want it right now' [ethos]. [A generation], in my opinion, the process still prize because it teaches you when you get there, you know how to really go to work every day, because I truly believe the NFL, this is where the best is. That's the ultimate goal. It's misconstrued these days but it is truly is where the bag is and where longevity is, where you can build and understand."
Sanders truly knows what he's talking about on the college-to-pros front. Selected with the fifth pick out of Florida State in 1989, the 6'1", 198-pound superstar played with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens during a storied run from 1989-2005. Named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1994, Sanders was also an eight-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowl selection. He won two Super Bowls while with the Niners and Cowboys.
