Former NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson was an electrifying force on the football field for all six teams he played for, including the Philadelphia Eagles. Now he’s looking to provide a similar spark on the sidelines after being named the head football coach at Delaware State University.
“I’m fired up. I’m ready to go,” Coach Jackson said during his introduction ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 8. “I’m really ready to get on the field right now. Ya’ll lucky we got all these NCAA rules. I’m ready to go to work!”
Jackson played in the NFL from 2008 to 2022. His career included two stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, three Pro Bowl selections and plenty of highlights, including a game-winning 65-yard punt return against the New York Giants during the iconic “Miracle at the New Meadowlands" in 2010.
After Jackson retired in 2022, he was hired as an offensive coordinator for the Woodrow Wilson High School football team in Long Beach, California.
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Then, on Dec. 27, 2024, Jackson was named the head football coach of the Delaware State University Hornets. The historically Black university is located in Dover, Delaware, and also has two satellite campuses in Wilmington and Georgetown.
“Continue to raise the profile of the fastest growing, most substantively diverse, contemporary unapologetic HBCU in the nation,” Delaware State University President Tony Allen said during Jackson’s introductory press conference.
Over the last two seasons, DSU has only won two football games. Coach Jackson said he’s not just there for a rebuild and his goal is for the team to show big improvements when the stadium gates open again in the fall.
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“It’s going to look a certain way and we’re going to do it a certain way,” Coach 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.”
While Coach Jackson will be focused on the field, he said his number one job is making sure his student athletes are prepared for life and he’ll be on them to get a four-year degree before leaving campus.
Jackson’s hiring follows the high-profile college football coaching career of NFL legend Deion Sanders, also known as “Coach Prime.” Sanders first coached the Jackson State Tigers football team from 2020 to 2022 before being named the head football coach at the University of Colorado.
Coach Jackson acknowledged Coach Prime’s legacy and influence but insisted he will do things a different way.
“I know a lot of people say, ‘Coach Prime, Coach Prime.’ I respect him and he gave us, guys like myself, an opportunity,” Coach Jackson said. “I’m going to do it different than Prime. I’m going to do it the Coach Jackson way.”
