Deion Sanders made headlines for seemingly trying to influence Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken regarding his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders. The young signal-caller endured a tough rookie season last year, going 3-4 as the Browns’ third starter of the campaign. With his father now looking to get involved, the NFL community is in uproar.
Mike Florio Criticizes Deion Sanders’ Plan to Meet With Browns HC Todd Monken
There’s plenty to unpack around Shedeur’s seven starts in 2025. He logged a 56.7 PFSN QB Impact score, which ranked fourth-worst in the league, and beyond the fact that he played in a failing system, critics didn’t think he showed a knack for being a franchise quarterback. As such, the Browns seem primed to start the $230 million man, Deshaun Watson, instead.
Deion, however, won’t let his son go down without putting up a fight of his own, as he aims to meet with Monken as soon as possible. As the Colorado coach put it, he wants to “tell Monken a few things about Shedeur.”
NBC’s Mike Florio, on the one hand, isn’t having any of it. He spoke about Deion on “Pro Football Talk.”
“There’s a clear bias there,” Florio said. “He wants Shedeur to win the competition. He wants to tell Todd Monken what he needs to do… It looks like Deion wants to try to work his magic on Todd Monken and explain to Todd Monken why it’s in everyone’s best interest for Shedeur to be the quarterback. And if you do X, Y, and Z, it’ll work. And if it doesn’t happen, it’s because you [Monken] failed — not because Shedeur failed. That’s the danger.”
As a father, there’s more than enough reason for Deion to want Shedeur as the Browns’ starter. However, the fact that his objective blurs the line between personal and professional makes this situation very tricky.
“I think Deion needs to take a look in the mirror and ask himself, ‘Am I capable of separating father from coach?'” Florio added. “‘Is this something I would say of any of my former players, or am I being influenced by the fact that this is my son?'”
Florio also speculated on Deion’s potential motive for being so adamant to make his son the starter, saying:
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“I couldn’t fix it for him when he slid to Round 5. This is my way to fix it now. I’ll help him get a fair shot at being the Week 1 starting quarterback. He’ll win the competition with Deshaun Watson, and everything will work out,” Florio said about Deion’s point of view. “I think that’s a clear, obvious bias in any of us, as parents would have. I think he needs to be honest with himself and not have that conversation.”
The Browns’ starting quarterback position has been the franchise’s leading storyline this offseason. With a father now getting involved, fans will be on the edge of their seats to see what happens next.
