Deion Sanders Meets Todd Monken at Day 2 of Cleveland Browns Training Camp

In the midst of a highly publicized battle for the starting quarterback position, the Cleveland Browns’ head coach Todd Monken greeted one visitor with a little skin in the game.

While there’s no final decision in sight regarding who’ll start Week 1 of the regular season for the Browns between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, the latter’s lifelong football coach was in Berea today, chatting it up with coach Monken. He also happens to be his dad.

Deion Sanders, head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes and father of Shedeur Sanders, met up with Monken at Browns training camp, after revealing over two months ago on Garrett Bush’s podcast that he was seeking out the Browns’ new head coach to discuss a few aspects of the second-year passer’s game, not as his father, but as his former coach.

Deion Sanders with Todd Monken #Browns pic.twitter.com/FPwvH4kU7Z
— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) July 30, 2026

Deion Sanders, an NFL Hall of Fame cornerback, served as Shedeur Sanders’ coach at Colorado and Jackson State, as well as his youth and high school teams.

A few weeks after the podcast, Monken replied he was open to meeting with Sanders, with the reunion finally happening today.

“It was really cool. I mean, Deion Sanders. Are you kidding me?”, said Monken to reporters at training camp after the meeting had taken place.

“Forget that it’s Shedeur’s dad. I mean first of all, I mean, first of all, he did an unbelievable job with Shedeur, great kid. And obviously an elite football player, hell, baseball player. And then as a coach, I mean, wow. Everything that he's achieved, that was awesome.”

However, if Deion Sanders’ motivation to meet with Monken was mainly to discuss Shedeur Sanders as a quarterback, it’s possible that it didn’t end up being the case, according to the Browns’ head coach.

“I mean, we just started telling stories and then we really didn't get almost any football. We got into NIL and Jackson State and Colorado and we almost drafted him in Baltimore and that crazy scenario and what a great job Shedeur's done since I've been here in terms of his development. And so it was good. It was a part coach, part father, which is what it should be."

Monken also revealed time wasn’t on his side, regarding the discussion with Deion Sanders.

"But we were up against it. [General manager] Andrew Berry was next, so I had to give him up to Andrew.”

“So there was some back-and-forth as to being around Shedeur in terms of how he processes personalitywise. And I think competitivewise, he got into it at the end in terms of what makes him tick, which was good. It was all good. But we've seen that. Most of what he said, we've been able to see. Now we haven't gotten to games yet. That's a lot different animal. But at this point, what he talked about, I would've said, 'No, that's how I've seen it.'"

Sanders declined speaking to reporters on Shedeur, the quarterback competition, or anything Browns, for that matter.

“I'm not doing media," he said, according to Browns reporter Jeff Schudel. "I'm just here to watch."

How can Deion Sanders influence the starting quarterback competition in Cleveland?

He won’t, even if he tried.

Sanders is absolutely right to make himself available for any NFL coach regarding any one of his former players -- the insight, as a former coach, can certainly be valuable.

But there’s no indication that Monken, or any other NFL head coach for that matter, would seek to appease a Hall-of-Famer’s ego by automatically naming his son the starting quarterback of a pro franchise. While it could happen at the high school level, it just won’t in the NFL. And certainly not when Monken has waited so long for him to finally get his shot as a head coach at the highest level.

There’s no doubt Deion Sanders would love to see Shedeur Sanders as the Browns’ starting quarterback, but earning the job makes it so much more valuable. And by not simply appointing him a starter instead of making him work for it, the Browns avoid placing unwarranted pressure on Shedeur, a young quarterback still in the process of figuring some things out.

Deion Sanders’ visit to Browns’ training camp is great for anecdotical purposes, but not much more, truly.

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