Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Liam McKeone

Deion Sanders Says He Couldn't Coach in NFL Because of Practices

Despite many rumors Deion Sanders will stay at the collegiate level this year | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Despite many rumors and countless hours of television segments spent on said rumors, Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders is not going to be an NFL coach for the 2025 season. A brief dalliance with the Dallas Cowboys after they parted ways with Mike McCarthy appeared to be the closest Sanders got, and even that wasn't that close. On the latest episode of his Tubi show, We Got Time Today, Sanders gave a glimpse into why he's sticking around at the college level.

Chatting with host Rocsi Diaz and former teammate and current ESPN color commentator Troy Aikman, Sanders bemoaned the difference in practice intensity nowadays, saying back in his era he competed just as hard in practice as he would a game. He highlighted the contrast as the reason he couldn't stand to coach at the highest level.

"That’s the way we practiced,” Sanders said, per Pro Football Talk. "I know it’s cute but I couldn’t coach pro ball. The way they practice, the way they go about it, I couldn’t take it as a man and as a football enthusiast. I care about the game. The game is still providing for Troy and I. There’s no way I could allow that to happen on my watch. That would be tough."

While it's difficult to gauge the potential difference in effort from outside the building NFL practices have undeniably gotten less intense in this era because of changes to the CBA. The NFL Players Association worked tirelessly over the years to enforce non-contact practices during OTAs, for example, and pushed back the start of training camp to ensure players get the maximum amount of recovery time in the offseason.

All this doesn't sit well with Sanders, it would seem. And it may even be enough to dissuade him from future NFL flirtations.


More From Around the NFL


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Deion Sanders Says He Couldn't Coach in NFL Because of Practices.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.