Prime Time prepares to sink Colorado
Throughout the 90s, former National Football League player Deion Sanders was a quarterback's worst nightmare. As a constant threat in the secondary, offenses had to make their game plan with him in mind. He was voted into a whopping eight Pro Bowls in his 14-year career, and has etched his name among the best as he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011. Despite an already illustrious football career, he has since taken up coaching at the collegiate level, a journey that just may tarnish his legacy.
For eight years, Sanders was a member of the coaching staff at a few different academies and prep schools, before finally landing a job with Jackson State in 2020. He was to take the reins and was named the head coach, replacing John Hendrick. Sanders then accumulated an impressive 27-5 record with the Tigers—the best winning percentage the school has ever seen.
Following the completion of their 2022 season, Sanders went elsewhere to get more money—$29.5 million, to be exact; the University of Colorado has accepted him with open arms and bags of money. While searching for a higher-paying job is a common practice and not necessarily frowned upon, Sanders has painted himself a bad image; not only did Sanders take over coaching responsibilities, he brought his son, Shedeur Sanders, along. Shadeur was the quarterback at Jackson State for two years under his father.
On Sunday, Deion “Coach Prime'' Sanders held a press conference at Colorado, where he motioned to his son and stated, “That’s your quarterback.” While Shedeur’s stats with the Tigers were impressive, naming him the quarterback after never taking a snap with a new team seems wrong, especially given their relationship as father and son. Undoubtedly, Colorado has some quarterback issues, but naming your son the starter immediately seems like nepotism and a great way to kill morale and respect right out of the gate.
While meeting with his new players for the first time, Coach Sanders was extremely blunt in what he intended to do. He stated that he was bringing “luggage” with him, referring to players likely from Jackson State. He encouraged Colorado players to enter the transfer portal to make room for those he intended to bring in. His attempt to clean house looks more like Jackson State will just be wearing the Colorado uniforms; meanwhile, Sanders will be praised for his great coaching decisions.
Coming to the defense of Colorado seems like the right thing to do, but it is hard to forget their 2022 season. The Buffaloes ended their season with a disappointing 1-11 record, only defeating California by one possession. They lost multiple games by 30 points or more, and several by 40 or more. The coaching staff was a mess, and the players were equally as bad. While Sanders is probably an upgrade at the performance level, his actions have already dampened the mental state of the locker room.
There are players on that team who have trained harder and played harder than most anyone, and their hard-earned spot is being stolen by nepotistic decisions by a coach who seems to be more of a publicity stunt. The impressive record at Jackson State fails to mention that the opponents were teams sometimes referred to as D1.5, due to their inability to succeed at the Division-I level. While a win is a win, it is important to zoom out and carefully examine their opposition.
Deion Sanders is without a doubt one of the best to ever play the game, and that can never be taken away from him; and yes, he is on the occasional Subway commercial, but his recent attention is nothing short of a late attempt at relevancy. Only a few days into his job, he has made poor decisions that will come back to haunt him and his coaching legacy.