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Deion Sanders’ rapid ascent through the coaching ranks and immediate success with the Colorado Buffaloes raises a lot of questions.
Chief among those questions is what’s next for the Pro Football Hall of Famer in his coaching journey?
Most fans assume that Coach Prime is not long for Boulder.
Either Sanders has immediate success, in which case he’s pursued by schools that can offer him bigger and better opportunities. Or he flames out, in which case Colorado athletic director Rick George finds himself looking a bit silly.
Thus far, all signs are pointing toward the first situation.
Sure, the Buffs have lost their last two games to Oregon and USC, with the former coming in blowout fashion. But Colorado has already exceeded its 2022 win total by two games and is just one win away from eclipsing the 3.5-win over/under for the entire season set by most sportsbooks.
So now the question changes for Colorado.
It’s no longer: “did we make the right move?’
It’s now: “how do we keep this guy here.”
Well, what if they offered him a lifetime contract. A situation that would Sanders complete control of his coaching future.
According to Sanders, he’s not interested.
“That’s a wonderful gesture. I love it. But I’m smart enough to know and old and wise enough to know that that can flip on you instantaneously,” Sanders said at his weekly news conference on Tuesday (28:35 mark) . “The fan only blows when you hot. My mama said that. Not me. So if y’all want to get mad, get mad at my mama.”
Now, that may be concerning to some Buffaloes fans.
But Sanders says it’s not because he’s not appreciative of the sentiment. Instead, he says that he tries to avoid listening to outside noise whether it’s positive or negative.
“If I listen to that, I’m gonna have to listen to this,” he said. “You can’t choose that and not this.”
So Sanders won’t commit his long-term future to Colorado. But he’s also not exactly seeking out other opportunities quite yet.