Deion Sanders is a game away from capping an historic, undefeated regular season atop the Jackson State Tigers football program.
The College Football and Pro Football Hall of Famer likewise has multiple national endorsement deals, his own podcast and burgeoning media company.
Coach Prime also continues to shine a light into the Tigers, who sit 10-0, are a consensus top-5 Football Championship Subdivision program and face rival Alcorn State Saturday for a chance to complete their unbeaten campaign before the postseason.
Thus, Sanders explains why he finds it mandatory to cast a transparent lens into his JSU program. Especially as he reveals in a recent locker room video to his team that he’s traveling to Dallas to shoot a commercial and then attend the funeral of late NFL assistant Adam Zimmer, the son of former Vikings head coach and Sanders mentor Mike Zimmer.
Sanders did not want his players seeing any rumors of Sanders interviewing for another job.
“That’s the way we do things, we don’t shy away from the truth,” Coach Prime said. “I want people to know where I stand and how I get down and how I move. We don’t shy away from it. That’s why it’s important to put out.
“We put out all the good stuff. You’ve got to put the bad with the good, the questionable things as well. We’re an equal opportunity employer around here.”
A year after interviewing for the head coaching position at TCU and having also previously interviewed for the vacancy atop the Arkansas program before Sam Pittman was hired to run the Razorbacks program, Sanders only has further burnished his profile in his brief time running the Tigers’ program.
In Coach Prime’s two full seasons, the Tigers are 21-2 and seeking JSU’s second-straight SWAC title and Celebration Bowl berth. Sanders and his crew have an upcoming documentary airing while also routinely providing daily video insights into the program.
“We put everything out,” Sanders said. “It wasn’t just that [addressing Sanders’s travel plans]. You get to see what I see in the meetings, every morning, every day. We don’t address that and just keep that a secret.”
Sanders believes the program must be transparent because it uses its online presence to augment its recruiting efforts.
“This is the way we recruit, man,” Sanders said. “Social media is the way we recruit. We don’t have the lofty budgets and all the things that recruiting budgets may give you. We don’t have all that, so social media is the way we do everything. A multitude of these players that are here now saw us on social media and wanted to be a part of it.”
Sanders will be a part of his first rivalry experience against Alcorn on the road, after hosting last year’s game and the Braves electing not to play during the Spring 2021 COVID-19 season due to health concerns.
“They have a wonderful head coach in Coach (Fred) McNair,” said Sanders, who played in the NFL against McNair’s late brother, Steve ‘Air’ McNair. “They’re a storied school and university. I have the utmost respect, to me Coach McNair is truly one of the leaders. He’s a pillar of the HBCU legacy.
“He’s a gift to the SWAC and he’s always been a gift to any coaching unit he’s been a part of.”