Colorado football HC Deion Sanders unfavorably compared to Joe Paterno
Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders was unfavorably compared by Mike Farrell (of the Mike Farrell Sports brand) to late-era Joe Paterno at Penn State -- saying both were unwilling to recruit, Paterno because of his age and Coach Prime because he doesn't want to (also because of his health), and suggesting neither should've been coaching while ignoring that aspect of recruiting.
"A report came out that Deion hasn’t done any home visits on the recruiting trail since he’s been hired at Colorado," Farrell prefaced before saying, "This wasn’t shocking to me; I knew this. I’ve talked to former staffers of his and people in the know who told me this was happening from the beginning. It’s the most uncommon recruiting practice ever. Joe Paterno stopped doing home visits when he was in his late 70s, which is understandable in a way. He was old and feeble. Should JoePa still have been the head coach? Nope. Did that end well? Obviously not. JoePa was a figurehead at the end and a bad one at that. Deion Sanders has been a figurehead since day one at Colorado but his fans and the cult that follows him won’t admit it. And here we are."
Paterno's final years at Penn State were filled with bad health and controversy related to the Jerry Sandusky findings. His tenure was fleeting, but most of his 45-year tenure was spent going on recruiting visits.
Sanders is in a different boat, considering he began his collegiate coaching career in his 50s and started having serious blood clots -- so serious that he had toes amputated during his time with Jackson State -- not long after his debut.
Deion Sanders' response to Colorado football recruiting allegations
Sanders didn't appreciate info leaking about his lack of recruiting visits to the campuses and homes of prospective Buffs, claiming to reporters on March 20 that he enjoys having recruits and their parents at his own home in Boulder.
“There was an article that came out that said I don’t go on visits,” Sanders said of the report claiming he didn't go on visits (h/t USA Today). “OK, my approach is totally different than many coaches’ approach. I’m a businessman as well, so I try to save our university money every darn chance I get.
“The parents, I love ‘em, and I want to show them Boulder. I want them to see this and how beautiful it is and why I’m so eager and how much I love this city and this state and this team. I want them to see that, because guess what? That’s why the kid is comin.’ The kid comin’ here. Going there is just showcasing for me. That’s just blowing money. It’s blowing a bag, don’t make sense. I can’t do things other coaches can do. You know why? I’m Coach Prime. And I didn’t stutter when I said it.”
Typically, there's guilt associated with someone who has such a visceral reaction. Sanders was found out, and his response is telling in many ways.