Deion Sanders set the blueprint for former NFL stars entering the coaching ranks, and DeSean Jackson is one of the latest to follow in his footsteps. The three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver accepted in December an offer at Delaware State, an HBCU, to become a first-time head coach. And he did so one week after Norfolk State hired Michael Vick in an essentially identical situation.
Jackson’s entrance into the coaching realm may not have been possible if not for the success Sanders found during a brief stint at Jackson State, where he revitalized a program and turned it into one of the best at the FCS level in short order. It was there that Sanders landed No. 1 overall recruit Travis Hunter and developed his son, Shedeur Sanders, into a prolific passer before they all moved on to Colorado.
“Coach Prime, man, I can’t stress enough about how he’s opened doors up for guys like myself,” Jackson said on “All Facts No Brakes.” “We talked about Michael Vick being at Norfolk. We play this year. Just being able to learn from guys like him that’s been at an HBCU when he was at Jackson State, now he’s at Colorado, it’s a stepping stone for me.”
Just over two years removed from his final NFL game, Jackson had no prior college football coaching experience when he took the Delaware State job. He did, however, spend the 2024 season as a high school offensive coordinator at Long Beach (Calif.) Woodrow Wilson.
The task Jackson inherited at Delaware State is similar to the one Sanders faced at Jackson State. In fact, the Hornets are in the midst of an even longer drought. Their last winning season came back in 2012, and they won exactly one game in each of the last two years under former coach Lee Hull. Delaware State last made the FCS playoffs in 2007.
Former Eagles teammates Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson will be opposing coaches in HBCU game in Philadelphia
Shanna McCarriston
“I wanted to come here. They only won two games in the past two years. So I’m coming into a situation where I can’t do no worse,” Jackson said. “I’m gonna bet on myself. Ain’t no shoe too big for me to fill. I feel like the foundation is set. It’s just on me to put certain [things] around.”
Jackson was a standout player at California from 2005 to 2007 and earned All-American honors with the Golden Bears in his sophomore and junior seasons. The tremendous college success made Jackson a second-round NFL Draft target, and he strung together an excellent career over the ensuing decade and a half with a Super Bowl title, three Pro Bowl appearances and league records for career touchdowns of 60-plus yards (26) and 80-plus yards (five).