‘Joke is on’ Coach Prime for being paid to be an ambassador, not a coach

As usual, Mike Farrell Sports’ Scott Salomon had harsh words for Coach Prime — this time implying that the University of Colorado and City of Boulder are merely using Deion Sanders to boost the Buffs’ brand.

“Does the rest of the country, including those in the coaching profession, view him as a joke as SNL did? Colorado State coach Jay Norvell took on Coach Prime before their game last month. What do other coaches think about Prime Mania?

“Perhaps the whole Coach Prime mantra is to attract recruits and bring money into the City of Boulder and the University of Colorado,” Salomon prefaced before saying, “If that is the case, then the joke is on Prime, regardless of how many millions he is getting paid to be an Ambassador and not a coach.”

Analyst crosses the line with callous Coach Prime criticism

It’s unbelievably problematic to suggest that a city like Boulder would use Sanders and his behavior just to bring attention and profits to CU and the Denver suburb. That idea is brazenly shocking to have published, quite frankly.

Coach Prime has brought a new level of recruiting to a program that had been squandering a historical legacy and all of the perks of the scenic Rocky Mountains before him. He got College GameDay to Boulder and had multiple celebrities at a Colorado State game.

And guess what? All of that would follow Sanders wherever he went; just as Jackson State’s best ditched Mississippi to stay in the “Prime Time” spotlight. Boulder would need another high-profile coaching hire to keep this momentum going, and it’s unclear how many big-name coaches would want to be Sanders’ follow-up act.

No, CU and Boulder aren’t the puppet masters empowering Sanders to act out all to fill their pockets with money and keep them set up for the post-Prime era. And it’s ugly to even suggest it.