Odds Released on Potential FBS Coaching Destinations for Deion Sanders in 2021 Season

• Odds have been released for Deion Sanders’ potential next coaching destinations
• Louisville leads the field at +2800, but numerous other Power Five programs check in at +5000 odds
• Read below for a look at the teams in the mix and which ones could be the best fit for Sanders

All Deion Sanders needed was one game as a head coach of FCS Jackson State to start the discussion about which Division I program will give him his first big boy job.

Jackson State kicked off its 2021 spring football season with a 53-0 win against Edward Waters. Immediately after, Sanders was questioned about his interest in a return to his alma mater as head coach for Florida State. The Seminoles hired Mike Norvell as their head coach at the end of 2019, and FSU struggled through a 3-6 season. Sanders deflected the topic and Florida State isn’t on the shortlist of teams offered up for bettors as of yet.

A pair of programs from the Sunshine State are in the field of candidates, but should Sanders move on from JSU after the season, there are several other sensible options.

Odds for Where Deion Sanders is Coaching Week 1 of 2021 FBS Season

Odds as of Feb. 25th

Who Makes the Most Sense at the Top?

Louisville has been run through the ringer a bit in recent years, but hasn’t shied away from bringing in coaches that attract attention. The Cardinals took a step back last season, but Scott Satterfield likely has enough goodwill leftover from his first year in charge to regroup in 2021.

Florida International is a more intriguing spot after a steady decline in recent seasons under Butch Davis. Recruiting in South Florida, particularly to a school not known as The U, takes a coach with some clout.

Sanders would step into that job as a bigger brand than the program itself and immediately change the local interest in it. The Golden Panthers are a team with nothing to lose in a splash hire, and Sanders is athletic royalty in the state of Florida.

Parsing Through the Rest

The relative risk for bettors willing to roll the dice on a move from Prime doesn’t vary a whole lot outside of the first five programs. As unlikely as Sanders may be to end up on a FBS sideline by fall, there are some teams on the list like Texas A&M and Tennessee that seem like obvious scratches. Iowa State has found a good fit for its program in Matt Campbell, who the Cyclones have given two contract extensions to over the past two years.

Matt Campbell agrees to contract extension through 2028.

🌪️🚨🌪️ pic.twitter.com/XsgPGFJ5zx

— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) February 8, 2021

Nebraska clearly wanted to bring a change in personality to its program when it hired Scott Frost, but the Huskers should be counted on to give their prodigal son at least one more season in Lincoln. Not to mention, running back bust Maurice Washington was heavily endorsed by Sanders coming out of Trinity Christian High School, where he had been coaching outside of Dallas.

Here's Scott Frost on the criticism that comes with being the Nebraska coach. #Huskers pic.twitter.com/6YmXlOBLqb

— Dan Corey (@DanCorey_) February 4, 2021

Among the teams that check in at +5000 odds or greater, programs based in Texas or that traditionally recruit the state and its surrounding region make the most sense. Baylor surely expected more than it got from Dave Aranda in his first year at the helm after the years he spent as a top assistant with LSU. Sanders is known for his flashy personality, but is outspoken about his faith and that is something that could resonate to a university with an institutional Christian foundation.

The Bottom Line

Right now, the list of reasons why Sanders won’t be coaching at an FBS program in the fall is much bigger than why he will.

Sanders has two sons with him at Jackson State, and they likely wouldn’t be able to immediately join him at a FBS program in the fall. Even though Sanders is known everywhere, his pull would go much further in the southern half of the country than places like Michigan or The Palouse.

No program should reasonably be expected to buyout their current coach in favor of an unproven Sanders and all the noise that comes along with that decision. Those willing to make a play on this one should prioritize programs that could use a new look off the field as much as they hope to improve their results on it.