Cowboys Country

Cowboys Ex Deion Sanders Tense Postgame Coach Conflict; What Happened? VIDEO

Former Dallas Cowboys star and current Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders' animated antics were not appreciated by a coach who had just fallen victim to his Tigers.

Geoff Maggliocchetti

In this story:

Deion Sanders was never one to back down from a challenge during his time with the Dallas Cowboys. That willingness has appeared to carry over to his "Coach Prime" persona at Jackson State University.

Sanders' collegiate tour as the Tigers' head coach descended upon Alabama State on Saturday. Jackson State (5-0) prevailed in a 26-12 final, spoiling their host's homecoming festivities. 

In the aftermath, tensions rose when Sanders met Alabama State head coach Eddie Robinson Jr. (no relation to the late Grambling head coach) for a postgame handshake. Sanders attempted to hug Robinson, who angrily shoved him off, leaving the former Cowboy dumbfounded.

Sanders' perplexion carried over to his postgame comments. He claimed to have praised Robinson and his team for "(having) them ready to play," as the Hornets' two-possession deficit was only the second under 20 points for a Tigers opponent. 

"My exact words (were), 'Hey man, you had them ready to play. Good game,'" Sanders said, per The Tuscaloosa News. "Shook hands and tried to embrace and he pushed off. That was it."

The incident wasn't enough to kill Sanders' trademark swagger and enthusiasm.

"It could be a plethora of things," Sanders said when theorizing when things came to a brief blow. "I think he thought he was going to get a win. I don't know why he would've ever thought that.

After the incident, Robinson claimed his anger toward Sanders was long-gestating. Sanders made no secret about his excitement about going to Montgomery to serve as the Hornets' homecoming opponent, referring to it as a "money game." That didn't sit well with Robinson, who also claimed that Sanders did not meet him for a pregame conversation at midfield. Traffic delayed Jackson State's arrival, forcing Sanders to, as he put it, "expedite" their pregame activities. 

"I thought there was a lot of disrespect the whole week," Robinson claimed. "We didn't talk in the pregame I was out there the whole time at the 50-yard-line. He walked through our huddle on our end zone, he came the long way around to get to his side during the pregame, thought that wasn't classy at all."

Robinson further claimed that Sanders "ain't SWAC," acknowledging the work he's done in terms of awareness for the Southwest Athletic Conference's Historically Black College and University football affairs but he wasn't going to let the Hall of Famer's prior accomplishments excuse any perceived rudeness.

"You're not going to come here and disrespect me and my team and my school and then want to bro hug me," Robinson said. "Shake my hand and get the hell on."

Robinson is "praying" that Sanders' success at Jackson State doesn't land him a job amongst Football Bowl Subdivision's Power 5 ... if only because he'd like to earn personal revenge against his Tigers. 

"We play them next year in Jackson," Robinson noted. "I pray they put us for their homecoming."

Sanders and the Tigers put their undefeated record on the line next Saturday on the road against Bethune-Cookman (2 p.m. CT, ESPN+). 

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags 

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Geoff Maggliocchetti
GEOFF MAGGLIOCCHETTI

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