Ask Farrell: Would Deion Sanders to FSU make any sense at all?
On its face, the idea of Florida State hiring Deion Sanders as its next coach sounds ridiculous and something dreamed up in a Hollywood studio.
But late Thursday night NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo -- two of Sanders' colleagues -- reported Sanders, who starred for the Seminoles in the 1980s, is interested in the FSU opening.
Sanders has no real coaching experience other than the high school level, including at his own school, Prime Prep, which closed its doors because of reported financial mismanagement and he’s now the offensive coordinator at Cedar Hill (Texas) Trinity Christian. He is also a celebrity coach for the Under Armour game.
On Friday, Warchant’s Ira Schoffel wrote that there is no way Florida State is going to completely dismiss Sanders because his image is too important to the school but that it is “almost inconceivable to imagine FSU hiring anyone - even a legend like Sanders - with no real coaching experience."
Schoffel reached out to former defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews about the Sanders news and Andrews responded: “Did Prime say that? Or did Deion say that?”
There were rumors when coach Willie Taggart was hired that Sanders was interested in coaching the defensive backs on Taggart's staff. It never materialized. Taggart was fired recently after going 9-12 in only his second season.
There are no parallels to this Sanders news that immediately come to mind but when Arizona State hired Herm Edwards after he had been on television for a decade, that decision was widely panned in the media. It’s worked out fairly well for the Sun Devils, who are 12-9 under Edwards. The 65-year-old has 12 years of head coaching experience in the NFL.
The Oakland Raiders hired Mike Mayock as general manager after a career with the NFL Network. There have been rumors that NFL teams are looking to do the same with draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah as well, who has experience as an NFL scout.
NFL Network colleague Rich Eisen said of the Sanders’ news that, “He would be terrific. Period.”
FARRELL'S TAKE
We ask Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell if hiring Sanders would be the most ridiculous idea ever, or if he surrounds himself with excellent Xs and Os coaches, would he be able to recruit elite talent to Tallahassee and be just the spark Florida State needs to become a national power again?
“My answer is two-fold. Yes Deion Sanders as the head coach at Florida State is ridiculous. To make the jump from part-time high school coach to running the FSU program is too much of a jump and it would be a disaster.
"However, there is no doubt that Deion would kill it in recruiting and likely draw the No 1 class in the nation at one point in his tenure. Yes, talent would follow him, but he would be way over his head as the head coach.”