Auburn basketball legend offers support for long shot Auburn football coaching candidate

Auburn basketball legend Charles Barkley has weighed in on the Auburn football head coaching search — throwing his support behind current Jackson State head coach Deion ‘Prime Time’ Sanders.

During an appearance on “The Next Round,” Barkley told hosts Lance Taylor, Jim Dunaway, and Ryan Brown that he will support whoever the next head coach is, but added that he wants Sanders to be selected by newly implemented AD John Cohen as the next locker room leader of the Tigers.

Barkley praised Sanders for his will to be successful at anything he does:

"“He’s gonna recruit like hell. Deion (Sanders) is going to win wherever where he goes. If you have ever been around Deion Sanders…  I watched that 60 minutes interview about a month ago… I have known Deion Sanders since college, that’s the way he is. He is going to win or be successful at anything he does.”"

Deion Sanders to Auburn football is a long shot

While there was a push for Deion Sanders to be considered for the Auburn football head coaching job even before Bryan Harsin was fired, that has since died down since October 31 when the Boise native was let go from the job.

Since then, the attention has been squarely on Lane Kiffin — who could well be announced for the head coaching vacancy following the Egg Bowl — and to a lesser extent, Jeff Grimes. The Montgomery Advertiser’s Richard Silva listed Grimes above Sanders in his HC rankings.

An anonymous source called ‘Prime Time’ to the Plains ‘a long shot,’ and chatter about Sanders to Auburn has subsided in recent days — paving the way for rumors of Texas A&M firing Jimbo Fisher to hire Sanders.

For those hoping the Atlanta dual-sport legend (Braves, Falcons) would be leading the Tigers in 2023 and beyond, Fly War Eagle suggests hopping aboard the Lane Train as its pulling into the station.