DeSean Jackson Talks Deion Sanders’ Influence, Plans to Coach Delaware State His Way

Former NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson was officially introduced as Delaware State’s football coach during a ceremony on Wednesday, marking another instance of an ex-star NFL player leading an HBCU program.

During an introductory press conference, Jackson referenced Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who enjoyed great success at Jackson State (2020-2022), but noted that he’ll do things his way at Delaware State.

“I know a lot of people say, ‘Coach Prime, Coach Prime.’ I respect him and he gave us, guys like myself, an opportunity,” Jackson said, per Tim Furlong and David Chang of NBC 10 Philadelphia. “I’m going to do it different than Prime. I’m going to do it the Coach Jackson way.”

Jackson spoke a little more about what that way will be.

“It’s going to look a certain way and we’re going to do it a certain way,” Jackson said. “But at the end of the day, we’re going to have fun doing it. And when you look up, you’ll be like wow, it’s a morale. It’s a persona. It’s a swagger. And I think everybody on this campus, everybody in Dover, everybody across the world is going to feel us.”

Sanders led Jackson State to a 27-6 record and a pair of SWAC titles before leaving for Colorado in 2023. He just led the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record, two years after the team went just 1-11 in the season prior to his arrival.

Jackson’s hire was announced a week after former NFL star quarterback Michael Vick became Norfolk State’s new head coach. Ex-star running back Eddie George leads Tennessee State, which just went 9-4, earned a conference title and appeared in the Division I-FCS tournament.

Jackson certainly hopes to find the same success that Sanders and George enjoyed. He has a lot of work to do to turn around a team that just went 1-11, but Jackson, a three-time Pro Bowler with 66 touchdowns over his 15 NFL seasons, could very well be the man for the job.