When Deion Sanders made the leap into college coaching, he kicked open a door wide enough for others to walk through.
And now, DeSean Jackson is walking through it.
"Coach Prime opened doors for guys like myself."@DeSeanJackson10 credits @DeionSanders for paving the way for him to coach at HBCU Delaware State 🙌🏾 #LegendsOnly pic.twitter.com/g1VeEjcPT1
— All Facts No Brakes (@AllFactsPod) July 1, 2025
Jackson, theformer Pro Bowl wide receiver known for electrifying speed and highlight-reel touchdowns, is now the head coach at Delaware State.
No coordinator stops along the way. Just a jump from high school coaching to taking over a Division I football team that’s won two games in two years.
Ask him how he got there, and he didn't hesitate: “Coach Prime, man, I can’t stress enough about how he’s opened doors up for guys like myself,” Jackson said recently on All Facts No Brakes.
And it’s hard to argue.
Coach Prime set the blueprint
When Sanders took over at Jackson State in 2020, there were plenty of skeptics. What did a Hall of Fame cornerback know about running a college program? Could he even coach?
Fast forward a few years — he flipped the No. 1 recruit in the nation, turned JSU into an FCS powerhouse, and now he’s running the show at Colorado with the sport’s biggest spotlight fixed on Boulder.
In the process, he normalized something that had once felt impossible: former NFL stars making direct jumps into high-profile college coaching jobs.
Jackson is just the latest to follow the path. Michael Vick, another former NFL star and Jackson’s old Eagles teammate, was hired last winter as head coach at Norfolk State. The two will meet this fall in a highly anticipated HBCU showdown.
Jackson is, however, stepping into a difficult rebuild — Delaware State hasn’t had a winning season since 2012.
“I wanted to come here. They only won two games in the past two years. So I’m coming into a situation where I can’t do no worse. I’m gonna bet on myself,” he said.
A familiar storyline that started in Boulder
If that sounds familiar, it should. Sanders took over our team that had gone 1-11 and immediately told the players in the room, “I’m bringing my own luggage — and it’s Louis.”
It was brash. But more than anything, it was believable — because it came from someone who had done it before. Jackson’s confidence carries that same tone.
He doesn’t need to explain his experience. He was an electricgamebreaker at Cal. He did play 14 seasons in the NFL.
Now, like Sanders, he’s coaching because he believes he’s called to build something bigger.
It’s a movement
Sanders' influence is stretching across the sport. When EA Sports ranks Colorado’s quarterback in the Top 20, it’s partly because of the brand Coach Prime has built. When high-profile recruits flip their commitments to the Buffs, it’s tied to what Sanders represents: opportunity.
Now, as former pros like Jackson, Vick, and others get shots at leading programs, it’s clear Sanders has changed hiring practices. He's forced schools to think differently. To take risks. To see football knowledge and leadership through a new lens.
Jackson is proof of that shift.
He hasn’t coached at the college level before. But Delaware State gave him a chance — and that chance might not exist without the success Sanders has had since stepping into the role.
“Just being able to learn from guys like him that’s been at an HBCU when he was at Jackson State, now he’s at Colorado, it’s a stepping stone for me,” Jackson said.
Deion Sanders
Utah v Colorado | Andrew Wevers/GettyImages
Legacy in motion
Sanders still has much work to do in Boulder. He’s facing one of the hardest schedules in the country this fall, and the pressure to make the playoffs hasn’t gone away. But regardless of what happens on the field this season, his impact on the sport is already locked in.
He’s shown players what’s possible after their playing days are done. He’s given guys like Marshall Faulkand Warren Sapp something to strive towards.
For Jackson, it’s just the beginning.
For Coach Prime, it’s another chapter in a story that keeps expanding.
— Want more stories like this?Follow us on X for all things Colorado Football and Basketball.