Colorado coach Deion Sanders reportedly has ‘interest’ in the Raiders job, though it may not be reciprocated

On By Littum

Is Deion Sanders intrigued by the potential of an NFL franchise in need of a head coach?

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sanders is interested in the Las Vegas Raiders’ coaching job. The Raiders are looking for a head coach after firing Antonio Pierce last week. The Raiders also fired general manager Tom Telesco after the team went 4-13 in 2024.

From LVRJ:

“He has a very strong interest in the job,” the person said.

The person indicated that NFL-connected employees of Sanders reached out to the Raiders to express Sanders’ interest in the opening.”

Sanders had not previously been mentioned as a candidate for the Raiders job — or any other NFL job — and it is not publicly known whether he has been in talks with the Raiders or any franchise. And per AthleticThe Raiders will not be looking for Sanders’ services.

There has been some buzz about University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, but the Raiders have “zero interest” in hiring him, according to a league source. Agents using the stubbornly quiet Raiders as leverage go back as far as the franchise losing.

Sanders recently finished his second season coaching Colorado, and the Buffaloes went to the Alamo Bowl. Colorado was 4-8 in Sanders’ first year, but tied for first in the Big 12 in 2024 and star wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback has recruited well in Colorado to bolster the team’s roster, particularly at the QB position. Shedeur Sanders is ineligible and could be a top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Buffs signed former Liberty QB Kaidon Salter in the transfer window and also got a commitment from five-star QB JuJu Lewis.

The elder Sanders was recently on ABC’s “Good Morning America” ​​and said he would consider the NFL if he had the chance to coach his sons. The Raiders have the No. 6 pick in the draft and will likely have to trade up to draft Shedeur Sanders. Safety Shilo Sanders, who also spent the last two seasons in Colorado, could be a Day 3 pick in the 2025 draft.

A Raiders trade for Shedeur is exactly what Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice and Charles McDonald had the franchise do in their latest mock draft. In it, the Raiders traded with the Browns for the No. 2 and drafted Sanders after the Tennessee Titans took Miami’s Cam Ward at No. 1.

That scenario seems plausible; The Raiders are in desperate need of a franchise quarterback. But the Browns are also more desperate than ever now. Our latest mock draft was released before the Browns announced that Deshaun Watson had torn his Achilles tendon again and could miss the entire 2025 season.

Watson’s contract was already the biggest albatross in football — and perhaps in American sports — before the injury update given his poor play in a Browns uniform. But the latest injury news makes it seem even more likely that the Browns could use their top pick to select the quarterback of the future. After Ward and Sanders, it’s unclear who the third-best QB is in the class, and even if that QB would be a first-round pick.

The report that Sanders had interest in the job also comes just days after the NFL Network reported that Tom Brady had “been in contact” with Bill Belichick about the Raiders vacancy. Belichick recently became the head coach at North Carolina and said in his introductory press conference that he “didn’t come here to leave.”

Currently, the odds are heavily in favor of both Sanders and Belichick coaching college football in 2025.