(Photo: The Dallas Morning News)
I’ve often referred to Deion Sanders as “Football Royalty” because everybody within the football community knows who he is. He’s hands down the greatest Cornerback ever to play this game and was the first true shutdown corner meaning nobody would even bother to throw the football in his direction when he was on the field. Deion has also been known for his personality dating back to his playing days. I remember during the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Darrelle Revis stated that what Michael Jordan was to Kobe Bryant is what Prime is to Revis Island and I was so happy he said that. After three successful seasons at Jackson State as their Head Coach, Deion moved up to D1 and took the Head Coaching job with the Colorado Buffaloes. After two seasons on the job so far, he’s been rewarded with a contract extension. A five-year deal worth $54 million which makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the country.
I’ll never understand the hate this man gets or why people don’t want to see him succeed. I still remember when people were mad at him for deciding to take the job at the next level after he openly stated if he were offered a D1 opportunity, he’d take it. Coach Prime has become one of the best coaches in the country. If you want to see what a players coach is, look no further than the Hall of Famer himself. This is a guy who can relate to his players on a different level, especially outside of football. Some coaches love the game and you have some who really live and breathe football and I can place Prime in either bracket honestly. Sometimes, I look at the beyond football aspect when it comes to him because he’s become a father figure to many of the players he’s coached and what I’ve admired about him is how he wants his players to be prepared for life and what comes with it, not just a sport. He’s shown his players how to act, how to conduct themselves not just on the field, but off as well. Even I’ve heard him say his calling is to help mold and mentor young men and has even stated he wouldn’t want to take an NFL job simply because of the way they go about things and how they practice. Coach Prime is a football enthusiast and loves to teach the ins and outs of the game. He’s a very hands-on coach and when he speaks, his players give him their undivided attention. Prime has also given many former players such as Marshall Faulk and Warren Sapp coaching opportunities on his staff and I can sit here and say if I were a father and wanted my son to play somewhere, I’d want him in Boulder learning from some Hall of Famers because I know they’d teach him things about the sport he wouldn’t get elsewhere.
Coach Prime accepted the Colorado job in 2022 and prior to his first season in Boulder, the Buffaloes were 1-11. In his first season on the job, Colorado improved to 4-8 and yes, I understand it’s a losing record, but the wins went up and the losses went down during the 2023 season. Last year, the Buffaloes finished with a 9-4 record finishing in a four-way tied for first in the conference, his son, Shedeur was named the Big-12 Offensive Player of the Year and Travis Hunter won the Heisman. He’s had such an impact not only on his team and the community he’s in, I can say he’s invigorated the sport of college football and another thing I admire about him is he is himself! No, he may not act or dress like your typical Head Coach, he’s comfortable in his own skin and does it his way. Coach Prime has turned Colorado into one of the most-watched teams in the country over the past two seasons. I love what he’s building in Boulder.
