What if Deion Sanders became Alabama’s head coach? ESPN star asks

Deion Sanders will embark on his third season as the head football coach of the Colorado Buffaloes and the first without his sons Shedeur and Shilo playing for him.

ESPN star Stephen A. Smith wondered in a segment on “First Take” with college football pundit Paul Finebaum what if Sanders decided to take a job with a school in the SEC. He specifically harped on the idea of Sanders replacing Kalen DeBoer as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Alabama, one of college football’s biggest powerhouses over the last decade or so, failed to make the College Football Playoff last year in its first season since Nick Saban retired. In 2023, the team lost to the Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl. Michigan went on to win the national championship.

“Just imagine if he was in Tuscaloosa,” Smith began. “What if, instead of DeBoer, it was him coaching Alabama? What if it was him coaching at Texas A&M with that oil money? Those alumni members contributing to the program and beyond. What if he was coaching at some place like Florida? What if Florida State had gone with him? Not to say their coach didn’t do a damn good job at least a couple years but, my goodness, that’s where he wanted to go. He desperately wanted to go back to Florida State. They didn’t want him. OK? I know this for a fact because I was on the phone with him when this was all going down. I’m telling you what he wanted.”

Smith proceeded to say that he thought the Crimson Tide were “considerably softer” in 2024 and wouldn’t have minded if Sanders packed his bags in Boulder for the challenge of Alabama.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer talks with Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard before an NCAA college football game against South Florida, Sept. 7, 2024, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File)

CFP COMMITTEE PLACING MORE EMPHASIS ON TEAMS’ STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE THIS YEAR

“And so, I’m just saying to myself, him in the SEC … Listen, Florida, Alabama, because I’m not sold on DeBoer. I know he did a great job at Washington,” he said. “But listen, they miss Nick Saban in Alabama. They miss Nick Saban. Dammit, I miss Nick Saban. … When you don’t have him, you can’t have somebody that brings a finesse style of game to Alabama. That’s meat and potatoes y’all. That’s steak and potatoes for breakfast. That’s what we’re talking about here. 

“We didn’t see that with DeBoer. I thought they were considerably softer, and I’m not going to lie to you, I would not have minded at all if Alabama changed course and they brought somebody like ‘Primetime’ to Alabama. That would have been spectacular. And I think it’s something they still should consider if this season is a repeat of last season.”

DeBoer, much like any head coach trying to replace Saban at Alabama, has enough pressure on him as it is. The No. 8 team in the nation will play Florida State to start its season on Aug. 30.

Sanders was, at one point, the target of the Dallas Cowboys’ head coaching position. But the two sides never came to an agreement.

Head coach Deion Sanders of the University of Colorado speaks about his journey beating bladder cancer during a press conference in the Touchdown Club at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on Monday, July 28, 2025.  (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

It doesn’t appear Sanders wants to leave Colorado and is more focused on the upcoming season and his health as he moves forward.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.