Is Deion Sanders intrigued by the potential of an NFL franchise in need of a head coach?
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sanders is interested in the Las Vegas Raiders’ coaching job. The Raiders are looking for a head coach after firing Antonio Pierce last week. The Raiders also fired general manager Tom Telesco after the team went 4-13 in 2024.
"He has a very strong interest in the job," the person said.
The person indicted that NFL-connected associates of Sanders reached out to the Raiders to express Sanders' interest in the opening.
Sanders had not been previously mentioned as a candidate for the Raiders job — or any other NFL job — and it isn't publicly known if he's been in talks for interviews with the Raiders or any franchise. He recently finished his second season as the coach of Colorado and the Buffaloes went to the Alamo Bowl. Colorado was 4-8 in Sanders' first year but finished a tie for first in the Big 12 in 2024 and star wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback has been recruiting well at Colorado to bolster the team’s roster, especially at the QB position. Shedeur Sanders is out of eligibility and could be a top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Buffs signed former Liberty QB Kaidon Salter in the transfer portal and also got a commitment from five-star QB JuJu Lewis.
The elder Sanders was recently on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and said he'd consider the NFL f he had the chance to coach his sons. The Raiders have the No. 6 pick in the draft and would likely have to trade up to draft Shedeur Sanders. Safety Shilo Sanders, who also spent the last two seasons at Colorado, could be a day three pick in the 2025 draft.
A Raiders trade for Shedeur is exactly what Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice and Charles McDonald had the franchise doing in their last mock draft. In it, the Raiders traded with the Browns to No. 2 and drafted Sanders after the Tennessee Titans took Miami's Cam Ward at No. 1.
That scenario seems plausible; the Raiders desperately need a franchise quarterback. But the Browns are more desperate than ever now too. Our latest mock draft was released before the Browns announced that Deshaun Watson had re-torn his Achilles tendon and could miss the entirety of the 2025 season.
Watson’s contract was already the biggest albatross in football — and maybe in American sports — before the injury update given his poor play in a Browns uniform. But the latest injury news makes it seem even likelier the Browns could use their top pick to select their quarterback of the future. After Ward and Sanders, it’s unclear who the third-best QB is in the class and even if that QB would be a first-round selection.
It's also unclear if Sanders will even interview with the Raiders. The report that he has interest in the job also comes days after NFL Network reported that Tom Brady had "been in touch" with Bill Belichick about the Raiders' vacancy. Belichick recently became the head coach at North Carolina and said at his introductory news conference that he "didn't come here to leave."
At the moment, the odds heavily favor that both Sanders and Belichick will be coaching college football in 2025. But we also wouldn't be shocked by anything either.
