Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders addressed rumors connecting him to the TCU coaching job on Monday in the Southwestern Athletic Conference's weekly head coaches' Zoom call. The Pro Football Hall of Famer also did not shy away from sharing that other schools are interested his services as well.
"Never believe rumors, especially when I’ve been in the hospital dern-near a month," Sanders said. "But trust me, TCU and several others are not the only ones interested in what we do here at Jackson State.
"They’re trying to figure out the formula. There ain’t no formula, man; it’s loving on these kids, challenging these kids, holding these kids accountable. ...that’s the secret. Not everyone has this recipe.”
Monday marked the first time Sanders joined the league's weekly coaches call since Oct. 18. While Sanders was in the hospital battling complications from his recent foot surgery, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Sanders had been a favorite linked to the Horned Frogs' head coaching vacancy.
Reports surfaced that Sanders interviewed for the job through a video conference while in the hospital. However, when asked if the former NFL star was interested in the coaching jobs, Sanders once again referenced his latest stint in the hospital, calling it a "real fight."
"I'm in a hospital bed trying to come back, period, and you think I'm thinking about coaching at a college," Sanders said. "It's on a lot of folks' minds. Not our folks. I'm in a hospital bed, in a real fight.
“I'm a dog, man. I'm a man's man. I like to do stuff on my own. I'm being helped in the car, out of the car, to the bathroom, out the bathroom. You think I'm thinking about departing and doing this or doing that? I'm thinking about my life."
Jackson State (9–1, 7–0) defeated Southern on Saturday to clinch the SWAC East division and punch its ticket to the 2021 SWAC Championship game on Dec. 4. In Sanders' absence, JSU won all three of its games under acting head coach Gary Harrell.
The Tigers will host their biggest rival of the season—Alcorn State—at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday.
