Deion Sanders will have a future with the Colorado football program, but what will that future in Boulder look like? Well, besides the mansion in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains between Golden and Boulder, that is.
On3's Jesse Simonton insists that the future will largely be determined by how the 2024 season shakes out on and off the field. Simonton assessed Sanders with a "high" on his 2024 Pressure Check Rankings.
"Coach Prime has spent the offseason insisting he plans on being at Colorado long-term, but that future could be determined by what happens on (and off) the field this fall," Simonton prefaced before saying, "The Buffs’ roster remake 2.0 should deliver better results, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty with so many moving parts.
"Was all the staff shuffling for better or worse? Will the OL additions allow quarterback Shedeur Sanders to flourish? Can the defense improve from at least terrible to simply bad? Sanders (and many of his media allies) have suggested that Colorado is a real Big 12 title contender, but simply making a bowl game should be viewed as a more realistic goal."
Deion Sanders will never be on Colorado football hot seat because of results on the field
As On3's Andy Staples points out, Sanders will never be fired from his head coaching role with the Colorado Buffs.
“I get it. Every coach who takes over a team has to figure that out, but the question is, is Deion trying to win? Because Deion is not going to get fired,” Staples said on the latest episode of Andy Staples On3 (h/t On3's Steve Samra). “Like, he’s not on the — , . Those are guys who are going to get fired if they don’t succeed. Deion’s not getting fired. Deion could go 1-10, 1-11. He won’t get fired. So he can build it however he wants to, he’s choosing to do it this way."
It's not about whether or not Sanders will stick around at CU for the next five to 10 years -- it's about whether or not there will be any substantial progress in the coming years after all his Jackson State transfers, including his sons and Travis Hunter, leave the team in 2025.