Deion Sanders urges Jets to hire Louis Riddick as general manager after recent interview

Deion Sanders calls for the Jets to give Louis Riddick a genuine chance as their next general manager.

Deion Sanders, head coach at the University of Colorado, has urged the New York Jets not to squander a potential opportunity after the team interviewed ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for their vacant general manager position. 

Sanders expressed his support for Riddick in a post on Thursday, writing: “Jets, please don’t mess this up and I pray this was a real interview and not that other thang y’all do. This man deserves a REAL CHANCE! He is knowledge & class personified!”

Jets Please don’t mess this up and I pray this was a real interview and not that other thang y’all do. This man deserves a REAL CHANCE! He is knowledge & Class personified! #CoachPrime https://t.co/Y1yrNDD4BB

— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) January 3, 2025

Riddick, 55, brings an extensive background in the NFL. A former player, Riddick played six seasons in the league before transitioning to the front office. He served as the Philadelphia Eagles’ director of pro personnel from 2010 to 2013 and worked as a pro scout with Washington from 2001 to 2004, eventually becoming the team’s director of pro personnel from 2005 to 2007. Afterward, Riddick became one of ESPN’s top NFL analysts.

Sanders, who was Riddick's teammate with the Atlanta Falcons in the early 1990s, appeared to be referencing “The Rooney Rule” in his tweet. This NFL policy requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for vacant positions, a practice sometimes criticized for being used in bad faith, with no genuine intent to hire the candidate.

The Jets are in the midst of their search for both a new general manager and head coach after firing Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas during the season. Riddick is among several candidates interviewed, alongside Ron Rivera for head coach and other potential GM contenders like Thomas Dimitroff, Jon Robinson, and Jim Nagy.