Deion Sanders leaves no doubt about future: "I couldn't coach pro ball"

Coach Prime goes on the record after passing up NFL opportunities

Deion Sanders Jr./Well Off Media

Deion Sanders made headlines recently by passing up potential NFL coaching opportunities, specifically one with the Dallas Cowboys.

Despite buzz surrounding his candidacy for the Cowboys’ head-coaching vacancy, Sanders chose to remain at Colorado, where he has served as head coach for two seasons. During a candid discussion on his show “We Got Time Today” on Tubi, Sanders explained why he believes professional football is no longer a good fit for his coaching style.

In conversation with former Cowboys star Troy Aikman, Sanders recalled how intense practices once were when they played together in Dallas in the 1990s. He lamented the decline of those rigorous standards in today’s NFL, admitting he “couldn’t take it” if required to coach the current generation of pro players.

"I couldn't coach pro ball," Sanders said. "Because the way they practice, the way they go about it, I couldn't take it. As a man, and as a football enthusiast, and I care about the game. The game is still providing for Troy and I, so there is no way I could allow that to happen on my watch. That would be tough."

For Sanders, maintaining discipline and a high standard of excellence is paramount. He emphasized that, as someone who cares deeply about the game, he wouldn’t be able to look the other way if practices were not conducted with the fervor he remembers.

Sanders has long stated he isn’t interested in coaching “millionaires” in the NFL and has repeated that he doesn’t plan to follow his sons into the professional ranks. This sentiment isn’t new; he made similar remarks over the past two years, revealing no attraction to any NFL opening.

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Staying at Colorado also makes sense given Sanders’s momentum with the Buffaloes. Over two seasons, he has compiled a 13-12 record, which includes a 9-4 campaign last year. Most notably, dual-position standout Travis Hunter thrived under Sanders’s guidance, capturing the Heisman Trophy and spotlighting Sanders’s capacity for player development.

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Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys last appeared in a Super Bowl in 1996, a year they won with Sanders on the roster. Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin believes Sanders’s larger-than-life presence would have been an asset in the modern Cowboys locker room, but the team instead promoted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to fill the coaching position.

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Ultimately, Sanders’s decision underscores his commitment to building a robust college program while preserving the intensity and values he deems vital to football. Whether at the college or professional level, the Hall of Famer’s outspoken stance ensures that wherever he goes, eyes remain fixed on “Prime Time.”