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There’s starting to be an influx of former NFL players joining the college coaching ranks. Deion Sanders has proven that former players can go to college and have success in coaching without having to be an assistant for years.
Former quarterback Michael Vick is going to be the head coach at Norfolk State and his former teammate on the Philadelphia Eagles is going to follow in his footsteps. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, former Pro Bowl wide receiver DeSean Jackson is going to take the head coaching job at Delaware State.
Jackson, who most recently played for the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, has always wanted to coach at an HBCU, per Thamel, and now he’ll get his chance. It’s unclear what kind of connection Jackson could have to Delaware.
He’s from Los Angeles, California, and played college football at California. He has spent a lot of time on the East Coast having played several seasons for the Eagles and Washington Commanders. It may be difficult for him to recruit at first but he was a big name during his playing days which could excite some college players. It’ll be very interesting to see what kind of success these former players could have in coaching.
DeSean Jackson Has Been Coaching in High School
This is going to be a big leap for Jackson. He only stopped playing in the NFL in 2022 and has very limited coaching experience. In fact, his only experience is being an offensive coordinator this season at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California.
Considering Delaware State has a smaller program, there won’t be much pressure for him to succeed at first. They haven’t won more than two games in a season since 2013. If Jackson can turn their football program around, he’ll be looking at offers for major college football head coaching jobs. If not, he can just go back to doing what he was doing.
It’ll be very interesting to see how Vick and Jackson do in these new roles. Sanders was much older and more experienced when he made the leap to coaching.
More Players Getting Into Coaching
There may be a shift happening in the coaching ranks around football. What Deion Sanders has done at Colorado has sent shockwaves in the coaching world. Even at the NFL level, former players with limited coaching experience like Antonio Pierce are getting the chance to lead teams.
There are also many more former players who are doing great things as head coaches in the NFL. Dan Campbell has completely turned around the Detroit Lions, Kevin O’Connell is doing brilliant things with the Minnesota Vikings and DeMeco Ryans has turned around the Houston Texans.
Former players are proving that they have what it takes to be great head coaches. Instead of going the assistant route for years like Campbell, O’Connell and Ryans, it seems like former players would rather try to be head coaches straight away at the college level. This is such a new experiment that it’ll take some time to know if this is the best path toward coaching success.
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