Prime Time. Neon Deion. Leon Sandcastle.
Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders has donned several monikers throughout his career, but one may mean more than the rest: Coach Prime. How has Sanders’ from-player-to-analyst-to-coach progression gone, and what’s his all-time record with the headset on?
Deion Sanders’ All-Time Record
While working as an NFL analyst for NFL Network and CBS Sports in 2012, Sanders became the head coach at Prime Prep Academy, which he co-founded. In his two seasons at the helm, the school went 8-7 but was shut down in 2015.
That year, Triple A Academy hired Sanders as its head coach. In his two seasons with the Dallas-based program, Sanders went 9-14. Clearly, his coaching career was off to a rocky start, but that all changed in 2017.
Sanders joined Trinity Christian High School as its offensive coordinator, which allowed him to coach two of his sons: Shilo and Shedeur.
The Sanders family propelled Trinity Christian into the spotlight by going 42-3 with three consecutive Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) titles from 2017 to 2019.
The meteoric success earned Sanders his first collegiate head coaching role at FCS-level Jackson State, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Mississippi. The Tigers were coming off six losing seasons and hadn’t won a conference championship since 2007.
All Sanders did was go 27-6, earn back-to-back SWAC titles (2021-22), and make the Celebration Bowl (the de facto HBCU national championship) twice — that’s not even mentioning he began his tenure amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of course, Coach Prime didn’t do it alone. He used the transfer portal to retool the roster, brought on both Shilo and Shedeur, and shook the recruiting landscape by securing the commitment of the 2022 class’s No. 1 overall prospect, Travis Hunter.
Sanders’ impact reached far beyond Jackson State’s performance on the field as well, bringing national attention to the HBCU landscape that had been overlooked for years. Yet, he rubbed some the wrong way by leaving the Tigers for the head job at Colorado in 2023.
Ultimately, it was the best decision for himself and his family, although his inaugural campaign wasn’t anything to write home about. The Buffs went 4-8 despite becoming a media darling following a 3-0 start.
Coach Prime’s squad has made a statement in their inaugural Big 12 campaign, boasting a 7-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in conference play.
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If the Buffs can navigate a challenging final stretch against Utah, Kansas, and Oklahoma State, they’ll punch their ticket to the Big 12 Championship Game and potentially secure a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff.
Overall, Sanders is 38-16 as a collegiate head coach, although the future is murky with Shedeur, Shilo, and Hunter expected to enter the 2025 NFL Draft this offseason.
Sanders’ Record vs. FBS Teams
Considering the fact Sanders didn’t face any FBS teams during his time at Jackson State, his record is solely from his tenure in Boulder, Colo.
Sander is 10-10, though he never played any FBS teams at Jackson State
The Buffs are 10-10 against FBS teams under Coach Prime. “But they are 11-10 in the Sanders Era. The math ain’t mathin’.”
That’s true, but Colorado’s 2024 season-opening win came against North Dakota State. While the Bison are arguably the best program in the FCS, they are still an FCS program.
Sanders’ Record vs. Non-FBS Teams
With Colorado only playing one non-FBS school, nearly Sanders’ entire record here stems from the Tigers.
Coach Prime is 28-6 vs. non-FBS teams, including 2-0 against Division II programs (Edward Waters in 2020 and Delta State in 2021).
Sanders’ Record vs. Top 25 Teams
This is where Sanders’ coaching résumé faces the most scrutiny — much of it deserved. Coach Prime is 1-6 against AP Poll Top 25 teams, with his lone win coming against the No. 17 TCU Horned Frogs in his Colorado debut last season.
Since then, the Buffs fell to the No. 10 Oregon Ducks, No. 8 USC Trojans, No. 23 UCLA Bruins, No. 16 Oregon State Beavers, and No. 21 Arizona Wildcats in 2023 and No. 17 Kansas State Wildcats in 2024.
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Although Sanders didn’t face a top-25 FCS team at Jackson State, he did coach in two Celebration Bowls. Unfortunately, he lost both, with the Tigers falling 31-10 to South Carolina State in 2021 and 41-34 in OT to North Carolina Central in 2022.
Does Sanders have a big-game problem? Possibly, but how he finishes the 2024 season — with potential bouts in the Big 12 title and CFP — will tell us a lot about his ability to rise to the occasion.
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