Stephen A. Smith Believes 3 Major Programs Should've Hired Deion Sanders

The Most Annoying Person In Football Media (1:25)

Stephen A. Smith believes some prominent college football programs will regret not hiring Deion Sanders.

Colorado cemented a bowl-game invite by defeating Cincinnati on Saturday. A program that won one game in 2022 is now 6-2 in Coach Prime’s second season as head coach.

On Monday’s First Take, Smith declared that Sanders is his Coach of the Year. The ESPN pundit called it “very plausible” that Colorado wins nine or 10 games and is eligible for the College Football Playoff.

Furthermore, he identified three schools that would have benefitted from having the Hall of Fame cornerback lead the football program.

“They should have hired Prime Time at Florida State, his alma mater,” Smith said, per On3. “They should have hired him at Texas A&M …
The way Alabama’s looking, I think they should have hired him at Alabama.”

Smith thinks FSU and Texas A&M are “ruing the day” they didn’t pursue Sanders.

BOSTON, MA – JUNE 14: Stephen A. Smith looks on during the game between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks during Game Four of the 2024 NBA Finals on June 14, 2024 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jim Cowsert/NBAE via Getty Images)

Jim Cowsert/Getty Images

Molly Qerim informed Smith that the Aggies are 7-1 under first-year head coach Mike Elko after defeating LSU on Saturday. Smith initially sounded flustered by that fact before sticking to his guns.

“Yeah, I understand that. I’m just telling you now: Prime Time in the SEC at Texas A&M? Please. That would have been special,” Smith responded.

Smith thinks FSU should “especially” regret not hiring its famous alum, but he seemed to gloss over Mike Norvell leading the Seminoles to an undefeated regular season in 2023. Norvell likely wasn’t on the hot seat after winning 10 games in 2022 either, but FSU has unraveled during a 1-7 season.

Meanwhile, Alabama didn’t have a job opening until Nick Saban retired last offseason. The Crimson Tide would have needed to pull Sanders away from Colorado after one 4-8 season to replace arguably the greatest head coach in college football history.

Alabama instead hired Kalen DeBoer, who led Washington to last season’s National Championship Game. Fans may think the sky is falling in Tuscaloosa because of two losses, but Alabama is ranked No. 14 following a shutout win over Missouri.

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