12/21/24
December 25, 2005
Deion drops the Neon.: "At this point and age in my career I'm not looking for a stage," Sanders said ... "I'm looking to teach the young players how to be professional, how to be a man, how to be a father, how to be a friend, how to handle your finances."... When he quits for keeps, Sanders probably will be asked to return to the TV studio. But his experience over the past two seasons has caused him to consider an alternate vocation: What he really wants to do is become a coach.
posted by worldcup2002 to football at 08:26 PM - 18 comments
It's not worth the trouble to hate Deion anymore. If being a conceited blingy jerk was a crime, I'd be scratching this comment out on a concrete wall in solitary confinement right now. If you were looking for a DBs coach, you could do worse. He's accomplished a lot, he knows the game inside and out from both sides of the ball, he's never been afraid to share what he knows, and if he can focus himself on the task at hand, he could use all that imagination and motivational skill for great good.
posted by chicobangs at 11:00 PM on December 25, 2005
I agree that deion is not a criminal i just find it funny that he's teaching players how to act like a professionals and better men. There are a lot of people who carried themselves much better than deion. If this was Jerry Rice in a mentoring role I would have no problem with it but deion? And yeah this isn't that big of a deal and deion can probably give some good football lessons i just hope the players tune out when he goes to other subjects.
posted by kellermcgee21 at 01:40 AM on December 26, 2005
First off, Deion still has to be regarded as one of the most amazing athletes of our time. He was probably the best cover corner in football, ever. I've never seen anyone who could completely shut down receivers the way he did. Great return man, one of the best ever. He also played receiver, just for good measure. And he was a fairly decent baseball player for a while, not great, but good. His baseball career was far, FAR more credible than the embarrassing attempt MJ made years ago. With all that said, I think he'd be a fantastic coach. Guys would listen to someone with as much status and stature as Deion. His personality obviously draws players to him. As for his antics earlier in his life (and still, somewhat, to this day), it's not like players today and in the future aren't going to come up with that type of persona with or without Deion. There are a lot of ridiculous acts in sports today's athletes can emulate. Sanders would be able to relate to young players in a way many coaches today can't. His experiences can be used to help a lot of young men, and I doubt seriously he'd be attempting to groom future "Neon" Deions.
posted by dyams at 08:06 AM on December 26, 2005
I agree with everything you said about Deion's playing ability. I also think he'd be able to relate with younger players. He'd make a fine coach. I say all this in hopes of bolstering his chances of staying on the sidelines, because I certainly don't want him anywhere near my television screen. He is easily one of the worst studio heads I've ever seen. Inarticulate, plodding and falsely enthusiastic, I'd almost rather be locked in a closet with Joe Morgan. Almost.
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:56 AM on December 26, 2005
When Deion was a baseball player in Cincinnati he was a completely different person then his Neon Deion alter-ego. He was humble, he fit into the community. This was at the same time that his album came out. I even remember the release day, In high school I was a bagger at the local IGA, right down the street was the best know "indie" record store in town and Deion was scheduled to sign autographs. 4 times as many people as they expected showed up but Deion stayed 3 hours past the scheduled time to make sure everyone got an autograph. Sure, it's just one anecdote but this city, which is very conservative, loved him. Hell, he road his 12-speed to the ballpark everyday. Neon is just a character.
posted by mick at 09:04 AM on December 26, 2005
TO BE 40+ IN THE NFL AND STILL BRINGING A SENSE OF FASHION CONSCIENCENESS TO THE TABLE ...PLEASE DON'T TRY TO DEFY THE CONTINUOUS RISE AND CONSTANT SURPRISE TO EVEN ONES WHOM DESPISE OUR ONE AND ONLY TRUE ALL AROUND ATHLETE...THE ONE THE ONLY "PRIMETIME" DON'T HATE ON A GREAT. MUSIC, FOOTBALL, BASEBALL, HOLLYWOOD, ANALYST, HOLY MAN, ACTOR, ACTIVIST, TREND SETTER, POSITIVE ROLE MODEL, NEED I CONTINUE... YOU DON'T HALF TO LIKE HIM IT'S A FACT NEON IS GREAT FOR THE EARTH WE LIVE ON.
posted by ROCKINRUSSROBB at 09:38 AM on December 26, 2005
NEON IS GREAT FOR THE EARTH WE LIVE ON. So, if I'm reading this right, what you mean to say is you like the guy? I also agree with waltfrazerjr in that I'd rather not see Deion as a "studio head." Come to think of it, the list of people I'd rather NOT see as in those roles is increasing at a frantic pace (with Shannon Sharpe at the very top of the list).
posted by dyams at 10:04 AM on December 26, 2005
What an amazing effect Dion Sanders had on the game of football.He had speed and acceleration like nothing that has ever been seen before on the defensive side of the football.He was a threat to take it to the "house' everytime he touched the ball.Another amazing thing about Dion was,for a guy who admittedly did not like to tackle, he was one of the most dominate defensive players ever to play.He could shut down half of the defensive secondary with his speed and closing ability.He was not very good at recognizing patterns, he was beat many times but used his speed and athletisism to make a play on the ball.He could bait QBs into throwing to apparently uncovered receivers,only to have the ball picked for quick six.You just don't see that technique at the NFL level very often.He was the first player of the ESPN generation to use the hype machine to his benefit. I thought that Chris Berman was Dions PR guy for a couple of years.He paved the way for the TOs and Chad Johnsons of the league,maybe even Dennis Rodman.I wish him luck as a coach.He was not a very good communicator on TV,and you can't teach speed or instinct.So I will be surprized if he has the same success he had as a player.
SportingRhino Welcome, glad you joined us today. I've read all your comments and find them well articulated and even poignant. Your insight on the European Hockey Players enlightening. Look forward to reading more of your comments. That said, if you could do me a small favor, I have some vision issues and thick glasses, if you could hit the space bar after your punctuation (, . especially) I'd really appreciate it. Thanks
posted by skydivedad at 03:58 PM on December 26, 2005
I'm with Fade and Frze on this one. He seems like a decent guy who could coach kids and it would be one less person in the pool of "Real Black People For TV" that CBS pulls from. If this was Jerry Rice in a mentoring role I would have no problem with it Really?
posted by yerfatma at 04:14 PM on December 26, 2005
Really? Maybe there is the growing trend of assholeness among 49ers recievers, whether they still play their or not. Look out world, Brandon Llyod will someday dethrone T.O.! And on another note... Fire Millen.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 04:57 PM on December 26, 2005
SkyDiveDad, Which one is the space bar? Just kidding, I know it is right next to the any key! This seems like a great sports forum. I found it while trolling the Yahoo Sports pages. The forum I usually post on has a tight character restriction, so I have developed a (habitofcramming). There seems to be plenty of room to run here..Thanks for the tip. I am happy to comply!.
This is an interesting article about Deion... Personally, I find the guy annoying as hell (especially as a TV announcer.) However, there is no doubt that he knows the game and had the experience. I think he could relate to a good number of players in a much different way than most of the coaches in the NFL and even college these days. It would be interesting to see what he can at least do in a coaching role. However, he should start at the bottom and work/earn his way up again. Many players have learned that the transition from player to coach is much, much harder than they ever realized.
posted by Punkrockrat at 07:22 PM on December 26, 2005
I wouldn't hire him for anything north of a DBs coach slot, at least at first. Not only would any prospective employer want to ensure he's gotten all his ya-ya's out, I'm sure he wants to make sure of the same thing too. But it wouldn't surprise me if he did a decent job at it, and if he did a greater workload, especially as he gets older, calmer and wiser.
posted by chicobangs at 07:50 PM on December 26, 2005
I kind of like the guy. He seems to have significantly matured in the past 5 years or so. On him as a commentator: I'm not crazy about him but noone makes me change the channel faster than the loudmouthed idiot that is Michael Irvin.
posted by arrmatey at 08:46 AM on December 27, 2005
dropping the neon is a pretty good indication that this guys mature meter is running more than usual. head coaches and owners want dependable people on staff, not someone who will compete with players for media highlights. by the way, I have info from a highly reputable source that ROCKINRUSSROBB is an alias for kevin federline...
posted by irunfromclones at 03:13 PM on December 28, 2005
y'all ain't ready.
posted by yerfatma at 04:07 PM on December 28, 2005
deion sanders is a ass....yeah teach these players to be just like you so we can have more conceited jerks in mink coats, tossing hundreds around in their very own music video pretending they can rap