Ian Rapoport: “NFL Network analyst and Hall of Famer Deion Sanders has emerged as a candidate for the Florida St. head coaching job, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. A fascinating situation that could unfold.”
Notable NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garofolo lit up Twitter on Thursday night with a rumor that alleged that NFL Hall of Famer and former Florida State Seminoles legend Deion Sanders was legitimately in the running to be the next head coach in Tallahassee.
The report seemed so far-fetched in the moment that most readers had to make sure it wasn’t another Ian Rapoport burner account.
But days after disgraced former HC Willie Taggart washed out of the program as one of the biggest coaching catastrophes of the decade, a cyclone of rumors and unfounded reports began to hit the news cycles.
Former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, one of the winningest coaches of his generation, seemed all but guaranteed to take the job, at least according to the convenient albeit heavily unsubstantiated rumors that reached a boil earlier in the week that turned out to be nothing less than fake news.
With roughly two months to go in the season, the FSU coaching vacancy keeps triggering unsupported tremors that keep taking flight on Twitter.
First there was Stoops, then there was Lane Kiffin, then there was Mike Leach, and some even threw Penn State’s James Franklin out there too.
Now, LeBron James has joined the circus, endorsing Primetime to make his way back to college football’s dormant juggernaut that was once the most dominant program of the 80’s and 90’s.
LeBron Tweeted Friday morning “Man, it would be so dope and just seems PERFECT for Prime Time @DeionSanders to be the HC of FSU! I mean right?? One thing about it, he would get in any household on the planet to talk with a kid/parent/s. #ItsTimeForPrime."
Sanders himself was feeling the heat of the rumors on Twitter, and actually acknowledged the Prime-to-FSU reports.
Sanders re-requoted a tweet that read “@DeionSanders Head Coach at @FSUFootball. He will win a National Champion in two years. Only Nick Saban can compete with him in recruiting. I’m pulling for you Brother."
Sanders then responded “Love ya my brother! Always have always will. Coming up in FLORIDA you made us think outside the box and dream big. I need those players from Miami. Just joking… Not really (laughing and praying emojis)"
Sanders played for Florida State under Bobby Bowden from 1987 to 1989 and was a two-time All American, including winning the Jim Thorpe trophy, awarded to the best defensive back in college football.
Sanders has never coached in college football but he does have coaching experience at a reasonably high level. Prime has made high school coaching stops ever since 2012, and is currently the offensive coordinator for one of the most powerful HS programs in Texas.
Despite the optimism, the Tallahassee Democrat has gone on record saying Sanders is not actually a legitimate candidate.
On Friday the publication ran a sidebar that read “Despite a report from the NFL Network that Deion Sanders is a candidate for the vacant FSU football coaching job, sources close to the search tell the Democrat that he is not a candidate.”
Much like the bogus Bob Stoops reports, the accuracy of this report is obviously in question.
Sanders is currently 52 years old and works as a college football analyst for CBS Sports and NFL Network.