LUT WILLIAMS BCSP Editor
The news of the hiring of “Prime Time” Deion Sanders as the new head football coach at Jackson State has been reverberating throughout the sports world.
Newspaper articles, television interviews and commentary, the Twitter verse and online chat rooms galore have been debating, discussing and dissecting the historic hire in unprecedented fashion.
What many have been asking is can Sanders coach? How will he fare at JSU? How long will he stay? What kind of recruits will be bring in? These are among a host of other questions.
The Black college SportS page decided to jump into the fray and get answers to these and other questions from his peers – those HBCU head coaches that he will be matching wits with on the gridiron sidelines and in the living rooms and dining rooms trying to bring difference-making recruits to their respective institutions.
We start this week with North Carolina A&T head football coach Sam Washington. Washington, entering his third year as the Aggies head coach, is coming off back-to-back Mid Eastern Athletic Conference championships and Celebration Bowl victories.
The 60-year old Washington, like Sanders, is a former NFL defensive back. He spent four years (1982-85) playing with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals (1985).
In addition to his time at A&T and two other MEAC schools, Washington also played and coached in the Southwestern Athletic Conference where Sanders and his JSU Tigers compete. Washington attended and played Mississippi Valley State and has coached as an assistant there and at Grambling State and also served a short stint as an assistant in the CIAA at Johnson C. Smith.
“Generally speaking, I think he’s going to be welcomed,” Washington said in a sit down interview in his office in Greensboro (N. C.) Monday.
“And I think he’s going to bring a lot of positive energy and positive thinkers,” Washington said. “The Xs and Os, I think he’ll be fine.
“But that’s not normally what gets you as a head coach. It’s that unforeseen and those hidden elements that cause the big problems.
“Dealing with the NCAA. Making sure that you follow all those rules. The governing bodies, compliance, how you handle those relationships.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how well he handles people. And how he gets along withthe ‘powers that be.’ Those are the things I would question.”
“But, I’d like to wish him well.”
One of Sanders’ biggest challenges, Washington said, is one that all coaches at programs that have had some success face, and that is dealing with the fans.
“From the outside looking in, and I’m obviously on the outside, but dealing with the fans at Jackson State can be a challenge within itself,” Washington said while chuckling at the prospect.
“They’ve had so much success in the past and they’re thirsty for that kind of success again, and I’m afraid if it doesn’t happen immediately, they could sour on him fast.”
His biggest advice for Sanders centers around trust.
“Trust your heart,” Washington said after pondering the question for a second. “Trust your heart. Nine times out of ten it will lead you to the right space.
“And be very careful and surround yourself with good people – that’s the key to it – people that you can trust and you feel good about, that they’re going to do the right things and want to do the right things.
“But, he’ll be OK.”
One thing Washington pointed out is something with which he’s quite familiar, the difficulty of transitioning from a playing career at the pro level to coaching at the collegiate level.
“That’s possibly one of the biggest tasks he’s going to face,” he said. “Being around those premier athletes and now you’re competing recruiting 3-stars (athletes) and happy to get ’em.
“You may even have a developmental kid that you didn’t have on your radar, be ‘the guy.’
“And being able to communicate. I think communication is key with those type of athletes. You have those big hopes and dreams of getting all those 5-stars (athletes), which is not going to come true,” said Washington.
“Not even Deion?,” I asked, “even if he brings (the likes of Pro Football Hall of Famers) Emmit Smith as his running backs coach and Michael Irvin as his receiving coach?”
“Not even Deion!,” said Washington. “It would have been something to behold to see that kind of a line-up. I really would have liked to have seen what the possibilities are.
“But I can say this, and I’ve been in this a long time. Because you played in the NFL doesn’t make you a coach. Just because you played in the NFL and you played at a very high level doesn’t make you a good coach.
“Coaching ain’t nothing but teaching and motivation. And those are things I think he’s (Sanders) gonna do well with. And being able to tell a story. I think he’s a storyteller. He’s going to be able to tell those stories.
“So, I’m excited for him. And it sounds like his heart is in the right place. That’s all that really matters to me. If he’s doing it for the kids then he’s got me,” Washington said.
As it relates to landing the 4- and 5-star athletes that have not come to HBCUs like Jackson State and N. C. A&T over the past few years, Washington is optimistic. He sees change on the horizon.
“I do feel that it’s coming, but it’s at such a slow pace,” he said. “It’s not nearly what people think it is. And the opportunities that we offer versus what the Power Fives can and do offer, we can’t compete with that.”
Compensation, like being able to provide the monthly stipends the bigger schools provide, would level the field and give increased opportunities to get some those kids, he said.
“But, during the times as of right now, with the Black Lives Matter movements and other things that are going on, they are listening a lot closer.
“There’s a real consideration because of where we are as a society to get some of these kids back.”