The never-ending rumor mill has consistently tried to connect Deion Sanders with any possible interest in making the jump to the NFL, but the Colorado coach doesn’t see it happening.

Sanders spoke with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in a phone call this offseason that got plenty of attention, but Coach Prime’s recent comments suggest he wouldn’t be interested in taking any job in the National Football League.

It all comes down to how they practice.

“I couldn’t coach pro ball,” Sanders said on his TV show, “We Got Time Today.” with former Cowboys quarterback and ESPN analyst Troy Aikman.

“That’s why I say, I couldn’t coach — I know it was cute — but I couldn’t coach pro ball, because the way they practice, the way they go about it, I couldn’t take it.”

He added: “As a man, and as a football enthusiast, and I care about the game. The game is still providing for Troy and I, so there is no way I could allow that to happen on my watch. That would be tough.”

Sanders said he didn’t have any desire to coach in the NFL in comments to “60 Minutes” back in 2022, although he did appear to make an exception when speaking to “Good Morning America” earlier this year.

“The only way I would consider is to coach my sons,” he said. “Not son. Sons.”

Whatever genuine interest there may have been between the Cowboys and Sanders, ultimately the franchise chose offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to be its next head coach.

That’s fine by Colorado, which saw a marked improvement in Sanders’ second season as head coach, playing to a 9-4 record as two-way player Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy.

Colorado won 4 games in Sanders’ debut year, and just 1 game the year before he took over.

In total, Sanders is 40-18 in his career as a head coach at the college football level, including his tenure at Jackson State over three seasons.

But now he looks ahead to a much different-looking roster at Colorado in 2025 as not only Hunter, but the coach’s sons — quarterback Shedeur and defensive back Shilo — all depart for the NFL.

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