(ThyBlackMan.com) While college football is back for 2025, there was a big showcase for as HBCU football began its regular season as the North Carolina Central Eagles defeated the Southern Jaguars in the season-opening MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff in Atlanta. The game got national attention as it was broadcasted on ABC and along with the football action, the broadcast also featured the NC Central and Southern bands battle at halftime. This season should be very interesting for HBCU football as there are a number of teams with former NFL stars as head coaches of their programs. It can be considered the “Deion Sanders effect” after he re-energized the Jackson State football program for a few years before becoming the head coach at Colorado. While there are no obvious first ballot Pro Football Hall of Famers roaming the HBCU football sidelines anymore like Deion Sanders was, there are quite a bit former NFL stars from the 1990s and 2000s who can show their players some game footage of their playing days in the NFL as a former Pro Bowl player. Here are the top five HBCU head coaches ranked by their NFL careers, starting from number five to the number one best.
5. Terance Mathis (current Morehouse head coach, former NFL wide receiver): Before Roddy White and Julio Jones garnered the attention for the Falcons at wide out during the 2000s and 2010s, it was the smooth Terance Mathis who collected four different 1,000 yard receiving seasons for the Falcons after being a developing late round pick with the Jets. Mathis teamed with another fleet wide receiver Tony Martin to be the pass attack to the power of running back Jamal Anderson of the most successful season of Atlanta Falcons history as the “Dirty Birds” made it to the Super Bowl following the 1998 NFL regular season. Mathis barely beat out the former flamboyant cornerback Terrell Buckley, who is now the head coach at Mississippi Valley State, for this fifth spot due to making one Pro Bowl to Buckley’s none.
4. Sean Gilbert (current Livingstone head coach, former NFL defensive tackle): He didn’t have a long run of greatness but Sean Gilbert did make things really tough against opposing offensive lines for a three to four season stretch that led to him showing so much ability he was acquired two different times by two different NFL franchises for a combined three first round picks, which tells you how highly thought of he was. Gilbert’s acumen as a business off the field regarding his contract situation over his NFL career shouldn’t detract from a solid NFL career he had.
3. Cris Dishman (current Texas Southern head coach, former NFL cornerback): Being the second act next to Hall of Famer Darrell Green as one of the better cornerback duos in the late 1990s, Dishman enjoyed a 13 year NFL career that included two Pro Bowls. Dishman seemed to get better with age at cornerback, which is very hard as he had his second Pro Bowl season at 32 years old, which is considered old to be a starter at cornerback let alone be a Pro Bowler as he was.
2. Michael Vick (current Norfolk State head coach, former NFL quarterback): While he doesn’t have the gift of gab like Deion Sanders did, the arrival of Michael Vick as an HBCU football head coach has drawn a lot of headlines and more HBCU football attention somewhat similarity to what Coach Prime did years ago. During his polarizing NFL career, Vick became a household name in the NFL first for his rare athleticism and jaw-dropping NFL highlights and then for his eventual imprisonment for his significant role in a secret dogfighting ring. He wasn’t ever a superstar in Atlanta as a player but only as a celebrity but he did have a superstar season in 2010 after joining with the Eagles a couple of years following his release from prison. Despite the NFL career full of highlights, the prison stint keeps him from the number one spot.
1. DeSean Jackson (current Delaware State head coach, former NFL wide receiver): During his NFL career, Jackson became known as one of the best deep threats of his era. His big play ability is highlighted by the fact that he led the NFL in yards per catch four different seasons. He had a flair for the dramatic with his play and personality on the field. Although he was diminutive in size, DeSean Jackson proved during his NFL career that he should have been a first-round pick back in 2008, when there were shockingly none taken in that NFL Draft.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines
