Stephen A. Smith doesn't believe Kalen DeBoer deserves the Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach job. He does believe Colorado Buffaloes head football coach Deion Sanders, who owns a 13-12 record in the Power 4 between the Pac-12 and Big 12, is.
Smith also boldly claimed that Coach Prime "badly" wanted to become the head football coach at the school he attended but doesn't claim as his alma mater, Florida State University.
“I wouldn’t mind at all if Alabama changed course and brought in someone like (Deion) ‘Prime Time’ (Sanders) to Alabama,” Smith told Paul Finebaum on “First Take” on Tuesday, per AL.com. “That would’ve been spectacular. I think it is something they should still consider down the line if this season is a repeat of last season.
“You can’t have somebody that brings a finesse-style of game to Alabama. That’s meat and potatoes, y’all.
“Just imagine if he were in Tuscaloosa. What if, instead of DeBoer, it was him coaching Alabama? ...
“What if Florida State (of the ACC) had gone with him, not saying their coach didn’t do a damn good job a couple of years back. My goodness, that’s where he wanted to go. He desperately wanted to go back to Florida State, but they didn’t want him. I know this for a fact because I was on the phone with him when it was all going down.”
University of Colorado Boulder alum and former Buffs quarterback Joel Klatt predicted Sanders to become the Auburn Tigers' head football coach in 2022 before hiring Hugh Freeze. AU didn't offer Sanders a contract. Coach Prime only had CU or the USF Bulls on the table.
The Herd is happy Sanders never went to Tampa, too.
With all that in mind, ESPN's highest-paid personality just said that a coach who was coming off a 4-8 season would've been better off in Tuscaloosa over someone Auburn and USF didn't want.
And it's probably true. Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and a receiving corps stocked with future NFL talent would've been a good fit with Alabama's elite RB room and offensive trenches.
We'll see how "Husky Harsin" and Co. respond.