With the new coaching search already picking up plenty of steam in the rumor mill, Florida State has seemingly begun to rule out some potential options that made sense on paper. One notable coach who is reportedly out of the conversation to take over in Tallahassee is a program legend, Deion Sanders.
Brad Crawford of CBS Sports indicated that Florida State may not be so keen on a reunion with Sanders, particularly with so much weighing on the success of the next hire. Noles247 insider Kolby Crawford also added that there is too much "baggage" that a potential hiring of Sanders would come with that Florida State is not interested in.
Sanders began his coaching journey with Prime Prep Academy, a charter school that was co-founded by the coach. Sanders broke into the collegiate coaching arena in 2020 with Jackson State, recording 27 wins in three seasons before heading to Colorado for the 2023 season.
Despite a strong 2024 season where Colorado won nine games, Sanders' tenure with the Buffaloes has been marred by ugly losses, uncomfortable media confrontations, and serious roster turnover over the past few seasons.
Florida State doesn't want to fall into the same trap with Deion Sanders
Unfortunately for Norvell, part of the reason why he was fired was that his popularity among the fanbase decreased rapidly. Keeping Norvell in Tallahassee became more of a headache than a solution to the problems on the field for Florida State. It may not seem fair to many, but the coach represents the program and the university, and the tension surrounding Norvell created a situation that was benefiting no one.
Enter Sanders, and a lot of the same issues could potentially follow, in addition to a few other nuances that have surrounded the coach.
A big reason why Florida State needed to fire Norvell was due to the lack of a competitive spirit against ACC foes. Norvell finished his tenure in Tallahassee with a loss to Clemson, which was his 30th ACC loss in seven seasons. Aside from the excellent 2023 campaign, Norvell lost a minimum of three conference games each year, which is nowhere near good enough to contend for conference titles.
Sanders has faced a similar roadblock during his tenure with Colorado, recording seven of his nine conference wins in one season. The move over to the Big 12 Conference didn't change much for Sanders either, with 13 conference losses in three seasons. Florida State cannot afford to continue to sit at the bottom of the ACC, and hiring a coach who struggles against conference competition wouldn't promote a ton of confidence.
There is also another issue that comes with potentially hiring Sanders that would lead to direct financial consequences. Colorado has had 235 total transfers, both in and out of the program, in the last three offseasons. The transfer portal has changed dramatically over the past few seasons, but Colorado has been formed almost entirely through the portal.
Florida State was rumored to have been interested in giving Norvell additional funds to work with this offseason if he stayed, but his costly firing casts some doubt on exactly how much the administration will fork over. Sanders is not cheap to begin with, and then add in the fact that he will need a good chunk of change to form the next roster, and the coach quickly becomes another very expensive investment for Florida State.
There is not necessarily a "cheap" option in today's college football landscape, but between Sanders' approach to roster building and the money needed to help turn around the program, it doesn't make much sense to hire Sanders.
Financial issues and conference losses aside, there is another problem that would come with hiring Sanders, which involves his support staff. Sanders notably cleaned house ahead of the 2026 season, which unfortunately has not worked out with the Buffaloes sitting at 2-5. Sanders has no problems enticing notable staff members to come work with him, but the issue is that there has not been much stability.
Florida State cannot afford to hire a coach and his staff and then need to head back to the drawing board the following offseason. Tony White was a coordinator who was not getting the job done and should've been fired, but that meant that Florida State needed to spend money that would be used on the roster to replace him, which is a part of the reason why the move took so long. Florida State doesn't want to go through the process of hiring and firing people each offseason, and Sanders does not necessarily promote the environment that is needed.
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