Is Coach Prime the Answer for Texas A&M Football?

Could Deion Sanders be the Next Coach for Texas A&M Football?

As Texas A&M football fans survey the coaching landscape with an eye towards what the Aggies may do if Jimbo Fisher is dismissed, it is hard to escape the name Deion Sanders. “Coach Prime” has been the talk of the college football world this year since making the jump to Colorado. He, along with a huge transfer class that included his son Shedeur and former top overall prospect Travis Hunter, looked to have quickly turned around a consummately moribund Colorado program that only notched two wins the previous year. Sanders matched that season-long win total in his first two games, and even went to 3-0 after a long, emotional rivalry game against Colorado State.

Since then, though, things have been less kind to the Buffs. A game against Oregon saw the Ducks absolutely boatrace a Colorado squad that looked unprepared for that level of competition. A home game against USC ended up close and gave Buffalo fans a reason for hope, but last week against Stanford saw one of the biggest blown leads in school history, as the Cardinal came back from down 29-0.

Even though the Buffaloes are now at 4-3 and facing a tough road to get to bowl eligibility, the coach Prime effect is still being felt. 5-stars are visiting Boulder for the first time in forever, and Sanders is still a huge storyline in the sport.

So, the big question: if Texas A&M football buys out Jimbo Fisher, would they go after Deion?

Short answer, no.

Long answer, nope.

Sanders is a CEO-type coach. His biggest strength is recruiting, clearly, but we have yet to see his skills as a true program builder, as he only spent two years at Jackson State—his first collegiate stop. He’s definitely a player’s coach, but life in the SEC is a whole different deal than in the PAC-12. The pressures and quality of opponents week-in and week-out are on another level compared to Colorado.

Additionally, there’s really only one unit of this Colorado team that’s up to snuff, and that’s the passing offense. Now given, this is the most important area in modern college football, but it’s hard to win when you have a bad defense and no running game. Hiring former Kent State HC Sean Lewis to the OC spot was a smart move, and you can see Lewis’s ingenuity in the offensive output, but the Buffs still struggle with physicality on both sides of the ball.

For all those reasons, I’d have to see more out of Sanders at the Power 5 level before I felt comfortable with him as the guy for Texas A&M football, especially given the financial commitment that would be necessary for that move. That’s the untold piece of things when it comes to the Jimbo discussion: not only how much it would take to buy the man out, but also how much it would take to get a high-level replacement in. I don’t think the financial piece of things is ultimately a barrier where such a move could not be made, but I think it’s enough to commend wariness to those responsible for funding the move unless a perfect fit is out there.

Texas A&M football is in a position that not many programs before them have been: they have stockpiled championship talent, but are wondering if the guy responsible for getting all that talent on campus is the guy to get the most out of them. I would be eyeing a guy like Washington’s Kalen DeBoer if something were to happen, but coach Prime doesn’t seem like he would be the smartest choice for the Aggies.