College football 2020 offseason thread

It's official: Deion Sanders has been hired as Jackson State's coach. Remarkable hire for an HBCU, and maybe the first time since Jay Hopson was hired at Alcorn State almost 10 years ago that I can remember a SWAC school really going outside the box -- i.e., outside of its own retreads -- for a head coach. It'll be fascinating to see what this does for the league, if they can use Deion's celebrity as a draw to lure some high-profile recruits away from bigger schools. Deion seems to be embracing that aspect of the job.

Deion Sanders introduced as Jackson State's head football coach - The Vicksburg Post

 

The Sonic Boom of the South May be the best name of any college marching band.

 

Wasn’t Doug Williams the head coach at Grambling?

 

He was, but he was also a Grambling alum. The SWAC has a tendency to keep its coaching jobs inside the family, with former players and coaches who have circulated around the SWAC getting almost all of the jobs. Bonus points if they're affiliated with their own SWAC school. They rarely reach for a coach from an FBS or even another FCS school or, like in this case, one with some celebrity status.

 

This is going to end in disaster

 

Doug Williams at Grambling. Anfernee Hardaway at Memphis.

 

Wonder what Walter Payton would have thought of this?

Much better than some of the other silly marching band names out there ...

 

They are 21-40 over the past six seasons. Whatever it is, it won't be any worse than what it's been.

 

Do he's done at the NFL Network? I don't doubt that Sanders loves the game, but I also wonder if he can handle life that far off the media grid.

 

Yeah he was done there over the summer. He joined Barstool sports.

 

Deion is also their fourth coach since 2013. They whacked the last guy after one season, and I think the two guys before him lasted about two seasons and change apiece.
In terms of making a splash, this is a home run hire. As in, it sailed over the lights and is still traveling. The first year or two he'll recruit rings around most of the SWAC, and maybe even poach a few in-state kids who might have gone to Southern Miss since their coaching situation is in flux. He'll have to win after that, and if the resources don't match the ambition then there will be trouble, but he'll certainly get more rope than their previous coaches would have.

Another thing that'll be interesting to watch is if this has an effect on other HBCUs. There has been some chatter in the current racial climate about the black community reinvesting in HBCUs and taking a good, long look at going there rather than other state schools. Deion talked on his podcast about wanting to promote them as well, and seems aware that his hire is a much bigger deal than just coaching a football team, or even just being an ambassador for Jackson State.
I'm curious to see if other SWAC schools try to do something similar by trying to lure a big national name the next time they hire a coach, and what the results are. Surely some of them will try it just to try and keep up.

 

Poor Nebraska. Moos and Frost are whiny bitches.

https://www.si.com/college/2020/09/21/nebraska-football-schedule-complaints-forde-yard-dash