The Jackson State Tigers’ football team has received much more coverage than your typical FCS team, and a lot of that is about head coach Deion Sanders. Sanders, the former NFL and MLB player and former NFL Network analyst, took over as Jackson State head coach last September, and while his stint there hasn’t been universally positive (see his barring of a reporter and attempt to cover that up with an unnecessary “Call me Coach” discussion), it’s certainly led to a lot of attention for the Tigers (who are 6-1 on the year, and 4-0 in the SWAC). But Sanders wasn’t on the sidelines for their win against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (0-8 this year) last week. And as per a piece from FootballScoop’s John Brice published around 5 p.m. Eastern Friday, Sanders won’t be on the sidelines Saturday against Mississippi Valley State:
Deion Sanders’ very serious health situation is expected to continue into this weekend, with sources at multiple Southwestern Athletic Conference programs telling FootballScoop on Friday that Sanders is not expected to coach his Jackson State team this weekend.
Per sources, Sanders remains hospitalized in a Jackson, Mississippi-area hospital, and “it’s extremely unlikely Sanders is able or allowed to coach this weekend.”
Sanders still is recovering from foot surgery on Sept. 22, 2021, as well as dealing with unspecified illness, per sources.
…FootballScoop has asked Jackson State’s sports information department for comment but as of publishing has not heard back from the Tigers’ program.
It’s far from clear what’s actually going on with Sanders, especially around that “unspecified illness.” Here’s hoping that he’s doing all right despite these challenges.
[FootballScoop; photo from Henry Taylor/USA Today Sports]
