Delaware State Football

Former NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson was officially introduced as Delaware State's football coach during a ceremony on Wednesday, marking another instance of an ex-star NFL player leading an HBCU program.

During an introductory press conference, Jackson referenced Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who enjoyed great success at Jackson State (2020-2022), but noted that he'll do things his way at Delaware State.

"I know a lot of people say, 'Coach Prime, Coach Prime.' I respect him and he gave us, guys like myself, an opportunity," Jackson said, per Tim Furlong and David Chang of NBC 10 Philadelphia. "I'm going to do it different than Prime. I'm going to do it the Coach Jackson way."

Jackson spoke a little more about what that way will be.

"It's going to look a certain way and we're going to do it a certain way," Jackson said. "But at the end of the day, we're going to have fun doing it. And when you look up, you'll be like wow, it's a morale. It's a persona. It's a swagger. And I think everybody on this campus, everybody in Dover, everybody across the world is going to feel us."

Sanders led Jackson State to a 27-6 record and a pair of SWAC titles before leaving for Colorado in 2023. He just led the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record, two years after the team went just 1-11 in the season prior to his arrival.

Jackson's hire was announced a week after former NFL star quarterback Michael Vick became Norfolk State's new head coach. Ex-star running back Eddie George leads Tennessee State, which just went 9-4, earned a conference title and appeared in the Division I-FCS tournament.

Jackson certainly hopes to find the same success that Sanders and George enjoyed. He has a lot of work to do to turn around a team that just went 1-11, but Jackson, a three-time Pro Bowler with 66 touchdowns over his 15 NFL seasons, could very well be the man for the job.

It wasn't long ago Deion Sanders was a prominent former NFL star coaching a Historically Black college and university at Jackson State, and he is supporting DeSean Jackson as the former NFL wide receiver begins his own head coaching career at an HBCU in Delaware State.

"We've got to wrap our arms around this game changer and give him all the support he needs to become a successful college football coach," Sanders said on social media. "He knows the game, knows what it takes to make it to the next level and he knows right from wrong."

Jackson was formally introduced as the head coach of the Hornets on Wednesday.

"We're not rebuilding," he said, per Xavier Handy-Hamilton of CBS Sports. "This isn't rebuilding. We don't have time to waste. We're doing this right now."

The 38-year-old also said the immediate goal is to reach the Celebration Bowl, which pits the champions of the SWAC against the champions of the MEAC each year.

"We ain't waiting," Jackson said. "We want to be there this year. We want to win the MEAC this year."

That would be quite the turnaround, as Delaware State was 1-11 overall and 0-5 in MEAC play during the 2024 campaign. What's more, it won just one game during the 2023 season and hasn't finished with a winning record since 2012.

However, Jackson brings instant name recognition to the program as a three-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion who played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens during his NFL career from 2008-22.

That should help on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal, which may set the path for a quick turnaround at Delaware State.

Sanders could be something of a blueprint, as he used his star power, coaching ability and influence to help turn things around at Jackson State. The Tigers went 4-8 in 2019 the season before he arrived but reached the Celebration Bowl in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022 before he left to take over at Colorado.

The Buffaloes have also found quick success under the Hall of Famer and improved from 4-8 in his first season at the helm in 2023 to 9-4 in 2024.

Former NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson is excited for the next chapter of his football career as the head coach at Delaware State.

"The opportunity for me to help write another chapter here at DSU is a once-in-a-lifetime moment consistent with my journey as a young boy finding his way to manhood through mentorship, accountability, achievement, and discipline," he said in a statement (h/t ESPN). "If we build that kind of culture at Delaware State University, we will attract the right talent and radically change the trajectory of this program. I cannot wait to get started."

Jackson, 38, spent 15 years in the NFL as a dynamic wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens before retiring in 2023.

The three-time Pro Bowler and one-time champion registered 641 catches for 11,263 yards and 58 touchdowns in his career, and in his prime was one of the NFL's most dangerous deep threats, leading the NFL in yards per receptions in four different seasons.

Now, he's making the transition to the world of coaching. While he doesn't bring any experience to the position, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that sources said Jackson always dreamed of coaching at a historically Black college or university.

"DeSean Jackson is a perfect fit for our institution—incredibly competitive, optimistic about the prospects for our collective future, and focused on the fundamentals of the institution: Students first," athletic director Tony Tucker said in a statement.

Jackson has his work cut out for him—Delaware State has posted just one winning season since 2008 and last reached the postseason in 2007, losing that year in the first round to Delaware in a Route 1 Rivalry showdown.

Jackson's former teammate, quarterback Michael Vick, is also joining the MEAC coaching ranks, having taken the head-coaching position at Norfolk State earlier in December.

"It's an honor to announce that I'll be the new head coach of Norfolk State University... looking forward to coming back home," Vick said on social media on Dec. 17.

DeSean Jackson is taking a crack at collegiate coaching.

Delaware State officially announced the former NFL player as the team's new head football coach on Friday, per Ralph Russo of The Athletic.

Pete Thamel of ESPN first reported Thursday that the retired wide receiver was "finalizing an agreement" with Delaware State.

Thamel also reported that it's "aways been a dream" of Jackson's to coach an HBCU program. He retired in 2023 and spent the 2024 season as an assistant coach at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California.

He joins Bill Belichick, Deion Sanders and Michael Vick as notable NFL names who have moved to the college landscape in recent seasons.

Jackson last played during the 2022 season with the Baltimore Ravens, where he had nine catches for 153 yards in seven games. He finished his career with 641 catches, 11,263 yards and 66 total touchdowns.

The 38-year-old also had a legendary college career at Cal, as he had 162 catches for 2,423 yards and 23 total touchdowns, being named an All-American in 2006.

He ventures to the FCS level for his first collegiate coaching opportunity and will take over a Hornets team that went 1-11 in 2024.

The Delaware State football team, which is set to open the 2024 season against Hawai'i on Saturday, missed a Tuesday flight to Honolulu because of a "bus snafu" to John F. Kennedy International Airport, Stephen Tsai reported for the Star Advertiser.

A spokesperson for Delaware State said the team was "working on a plan," per Tsai.

The flight to Hawai'i is slated to take 10.5 hours, Tsai reported. The two teams are currently scheduled to open the 2024 season at 5:59 p.m. local time, or 11:59 p.m. ET, on Saturday.

Delaware State head coach Lee Hull said on Monday that the team was leaving at 4 a.m. on Tuesday to make the flight at JFK, per Steven J. Gaither of HBCU Gameday.

According to Gaither, Hull said on Monday that the team had faced some "issues" preparing for the almost 5,000-mile round trip between Dover and Honolulu.

"Today people coming in—'Oh we got an issue here, we got an issue there. What are we doing here?'" Hull said, per Gaither. "You know, so that last-minute stuff that that comes up because of the long flight. You know we got to drive to JFK, which is three hours away. And then we got a direct flight, which is another 10.5 hours. So yeah, but we're looking forward to it."

Delaware State was added to the Rainbow Warriors schedule after Hawai'i and Oregon agreed in December to reschedule their planned season opener following Oregon's move to the Big Ten.

The Hornets received a "lucrative payment" to cover travel costs in exchange for agreeing to the season-opening matchup, Kevin Tresolini reported for the Delaware News Journal.

Delaware State is looking to bounce back after a 1-10 campaign despite a difficult schedule to start the 2024 season.

The Hornets were already slated to have less than a week to recover from the six-hour time change in Hawai'i before taking on their second road game of the season, an Aug. 31 tilt against Sacred Heart. The team isn't set to play at home until Sept. 14 against visiting Wagner.

Now that schedule has been made more challenging, with Delaware State set to have fewer days to beat jet lag before opening the 2024 season.