Deion Sanders receives high coaching honor in second season at Jackson State

Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders has been named the SWAC Coach of the Year, according to a conference press release.

Sanders, who tweaked his nickname from “Prime Time” to “Coach Prime,” took over as Jackson State’s head coach last season, going 4-3 in an abbreviated 2020 season, which was moved to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This season, however, the Jackson State Tigers put together a spectacular performance, finishing with a regular-season record of 10-1 (including a perfect 8-0 record in SWAC play) and are set to face Prarie View (7-3, 6-1) in the SWAC Championship on Dec. 4.

The 10-win performance marks Jackson State’s first such season since 1996. Sanders’ only loss of the season came in a Week 3 non-conference game to Louisiana-Monroe, which the Tigers lost just 12-7, and Jackson State has since improved with an eight-game win streak under his tutelage. Additionally, Sanders’ defense leads the FCS in sacks and allow a conference-best 13.8 points per game.

Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son, was also named the SWAC Freshman of the Year. He’s thrown for 2,971 yards on a 68.7 percent completion rate, tallying 28 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions.

Sanders previously linked with TCU vacancy

The TCU Horned Frogs fired the program’s winningest head coach, Gary Patterson, earlier this year, and have since named his successor: SMU head coach Sonny Dykes.

Before Dykes was hired, though, Sanders emerged as a candidate for the TCU opening on Nov. 3. He reportedly interviewed for the job in Fort Worth, Texas.

Days after the news, a subsequent Nov. 9 report by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram said that Sanders was “squarely” in the mix for the TCU head coaching vacancy after impressing the Horned Frogs’ brass in his first interview for the gig.

Obviously, Sanders ultimately did not receive the TCU job. However, on Nov. 15 he went so far as to deny that he was ever a candidate.

“You mean when I was in the hospital bed for darn near a month?” Sanders said, via the Clarion Ledger. “You mean that time? Think about what you just asked me. I was in a hospital bed trying to make sure I could come back period and you think I’m thinking about coaching at a college?”

Sanders was in the hospital after undergoing a recent foot surgery procedure.