Only two weeks into the year, it’s unfair to say Colorado’s season is already lost. But with head coach Deion Sanders and quarterback Shedeur Sanders leading the program, it could be soon.
A Struggle for Direction: The Sanders’ Leadership Issues Impacting Colorado
Last season, the Buffaloes’ first two losses came against ranked Pac-12 opponents Oregon and USC. However, a double-overtime defeat to Stanford at home broke the team’s spirit, resulting in a 0-6 record in the final six games.
Could Colorado’s recent 28-10 rout at the hands of program rival Nebraska signal a similar downward spiral?
On a first-and-10 run with just over nine minutes remaining in the game, Sanders took a hit to his head while sliding, resulting in Nebraska LB Mikai Gbayor’s ejection. Trainers attended to Sanders on the sideline as he took a knee, but after the targeting review was completed, he returned to the field.
Two plays after the hit, Sanders threw a 5-yard touchdown to WR LaJohntay Wester, Colorado’s only TD of the game.
Sanders appeared OK on the sidelines, but backup Ryan Staub trotted onto the field for the team’s final drive. Yet, at the two-minute timeout, Sanders left for the locker room, sparking a social media frenzy.
Shedeur Sanders headed to the locker room with 2 minutes remaining.
The comments were interesting pic.twitter.com/BU7Ci5Y71b
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) September 8, 2024
After the game, Deion Sanders addressed the decision, saying, “We just wanted to make sure we get him checked out. And we have every precaution because now we’re looking forward to next week. This week was over. By the time he got out of the game, it was a wrap. So, we wanted to make sure he was going to be OK, so we wanted to get him checked out.”
While that appears to be a valid explanation, if Coach Prime and the staff were actually worried about Shedeur’s health, they wouldn’t have let him finish off the drive. With the game sitting at 28-3 midway through the fourth quarter, it was practically “a wrap,” as Sanders put it.
But, fair enough, let’s chalk it up to player safety.
The younger Sanders’ postgame conference only added fuel to the media outcry, as he threw his offensive line under the bus:
“How many times did (Nebraska QB Dylan) Raiola get touched? Of course, when you’re able to run the ball consistently, that opens up the pass, you know? But it’s just like, you’ve got to understand what your team’s good at. Why would we keep running the ball when we get out there, and there’s a must-get situation, and we don’t get it?”
Was Sanders sacked a staggering five times? Yes. Was he pressured even more than that? Yes. But does that give him free rein to openly criticize those tasked with protecting him? Absolutely not.
In the spring, former Colorado DB Xavier Smith accused Deion Sanders of “destroying guys’ confidence and belief in themselves.” Sanders quickly defended his father, posting on X, “Ion even remember him, tbh. Bro had to be very mid at best.”
Then, in the summer, Miami QB Cam Ward called Sanders’ work ethic into question while they were training in South Florida alongside Virginia Tech QB Kyron Drones.
“I don’t think you got better today,” Ward said. “I did. … We throwing comebacks, you just lofting it, you not throwing it. C’mon, man.”
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Although on the surface, it was likely banter between two highly competitive athletes, Ward’s remarks pointed to a deeper issue — one the NFL has certainly noted.
When The Athletic’s Jim Trotter asked a former longtime general manager if Sanders’ behavior could affect his chances of being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, he responded, “If you’re asking the question, teams are definitely going to be asking the question.”
Yet, Colorado’s QB is only an extension of the root of the issue: Coach Prime.
Sanders has long dealt with delusions of grandeur, likely stemming from the inception of his “Prime Time” persona as a college athlete.
However, it’s one thing to be an over-confident cornerback. It’s another to be an arrogant head coach.
No coach is perfect, but most are able to admit as much. Coach Prime seemingly believes he is the Second Coming — no, really.
“We played a total of 20 freshmen last season, including seven walk-ons,” Sanders said at Big 12 Media Days. “So if you’re a freshman and you walk on, you have an opportunity to play. Academically, 2024, second-highest GPA for the football team ever, 2023, highest GPA for the football team ever. That’s AP. That means After Prime.”
Here’s a quick breakdown of the most prominent ego-driven actions Sanders has committed since joining Colorado:
- On the “Rich Eisen Show” in February 2023, Sanders shared his racist stereotype-perpetuating recruiting philosophy of targeting QBs with both parents and a 3.5+ GPA while targeting athletes with a single mother and who are on free lunch for the defensive line.
- When asked who the best coach in college football was during an appearance on “60 Minutes” last year, Sanders said, “Let me see a mirror so I can look at him.”
- While “bored” during the week of Big 12 spring meetings, Sanders clapped back at an X user calling out Shedeur for the 4-8 season, saying, “He will be a top 5 pick. Where yo son going ? Lololol I got time today. Lololol.”
- During the same timeframe, Colorado WR Kaleb Smith and former Austin Peay DB Jaheim Ward criticized one another by referencing the other’s meager 2023 stats. Sanders responded to a post of Ward’s numbers with “Lawd Jesus,” later claiming his remark was about the dispute and wasn’t meant to demean the player.
- When asked at Media Days if he had time to reflect on his impact as a coach since his time at Jackson State, Prime Time responded, “So I don’t have time, even though my arms can reach back to pat myself on the back, I don’t have time for that. You don’t like it anyway. Every once in a while, I do it because I know you all ain’t going to do it.”
- Also at Media Days, Sanders said he is “judged on a different scale. My wins are totally different than your wins.”
- Entering the season, Sanders stated he would not address questions from several reporters, including local CBS affiliates, which he can do thanks to language in his Colorado contract that says he can approve or disprove who he speaks to in the media.
The Coach Prime Time roller coaster doesn’t begin or end there, as there were also concerning allegations about the culture in Boulder, Colorado.
While Sanders genuinely cares about the student-athletes and staff members within his program, his leadership style hasn’t translated to wins on the Power Five level — and likely won’t.
Sanders’ obsessive drive for promotion — whether for himself, his sons, or the team — certainly captures headlines. But a culture built on spectacle rather than substance is doomed to fail. And that’s precisely the environment Sanders has cultivated at Colorado.
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