There are a lot of NFL head coaching vacancies right now and only so many qualified head coaching candidates to go around. Could that mean a Power Four college football coach with a losing career record can still be a viable candidate for one of those jobs?
If your name is Deion “Prime Time” Sanders, and you’re a Hall of Famer and a marketing machine, then…well, maybe. Especially if your son could be your starting quarterback. Again.
The Cleveland Browns fired former Head Coach Kevin Stefanski on “Black Monday” January 5th. Who might be ownership’s leading candidate at the moment is unclear. But Deion’s name is out there. While it doesn’t make sense to most, it does to some. And stranger things have happened.
Maybe it’s all just rumor and wishful thinking on the part of some segment of Browns supporters, but nonetheless, it’s out there. The idea of having the Sanders teaming up with his son Shedeur again is very appealing to a significant part of the Browns’ fan base.
The elder Sanders just completed his third season at the helm of the University of Colorado. So far, it’s been more hat than cattle. A combined 16-21 includes the successful 9-4 season in 2024 when his son Shedeur – last seen as the starter under center for the Browns – and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter were leading the way. The Deion/Shedeur boosters put all their stock in the ’24 season and pretty much ignore the ’23 4-8 or the ’25 3-9 campaigns.
The question is, would the Browns management do the same? Could they make a case for hiring Deion that would appease a frustrated Browns’ fan base?
As a rookie last season, Shedeur took over as the Browns starter with seven games to go. The Browns went 2-5 as Sanders threw for 1,400 yards, with 10 interceptions and seven touchdown passes. He finished near the bottom in several QB stats in his abbreviated stint. Nevertheless, based mostly on potential, there is support for him to remain the starter going into next season.
Back in 2024, when his father’s staff at Colorado gave him the freedom to play his game, Shedeur put up All-American numbers. And with the Browns struggles under center, that’s enough for a lot of Browns fans. Many see the arm and the potential, why others, well…not so much.
Right now, Deion is in the middle of recruiting future Buffaloes out of the Transfer Portal in an effort to rebuild his roster for next season. At the moment, CU’s prospects for 2026 aren’t looking favorable after losing 30 players – many of them key starters – when the portal first opened. Colorado just hired a new Athletic Director, Fernando Lovo, so Sanders’ future in Boulder isn’t set in stone. There is a faction of Buff followers who are openly questioning his long term prospects at CU.
Could all this mean that the timing would be right for a move to the NFL?
Meanwhile the Browns are reportedly interested in the same handful of candidates that the rest of the NFL is looking at to fill current coaching vacancies. It’s most likely that Deion is back in Boulder and Shedeur will need to impress a new head coach in Cleveland starting this spring. But for now, Browns’ fans can dream.
Is Deion to Cleveland the Impossible Dream for Browns fans?