Former Alabama quarterback-turned-ESPN host Greg McElroy begrudgingly called out Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders, who he admitted to being a fan of, for Coach Prime's recent call-outs of former players.
McElroy shared his opinion that it's "never a good look" to trash former players who left the program, something Sanders recently did while speaking about Xavier Smith and inferring that he doesn't have the mental fortitude to withstand the heat his comments generated.
“I’m still rooting for him,” McElroy said on Always College Football (h/t AthlonSports). “I want it to be successful. I’m good with people doing it a different way, I really am. But I think when you start, you know, loudmouth, trashing guys that left the program, that’s never a good look. And it’s never going to be beneficial to how you’re perceived in the court of public opinion.”
Colorado football HC Deion Sanders trying to explain away behavior on social media as boredom
Sanders never addressed his comments toward Smith, but they followed a habit of being somewhat passive-aggressive. Before he addressed the most notable Buff to comment on how Coach Prime handled his exit, Sanders tried to explain his interactions with Austin Peay's Jaheim Ward and a random fan by saying he was bored.
“I gotta do better on that and not ride with it, but I was bored,” Sanders said on Thee Pregame Show, (h/t USA Today). “I was bored, and I didn’t say nothing hurtful. I don’t attack people.
“I try my best to refrain, but like when you posted like stats, I said, 'Lawd Jesus,’ like dang, he really went at him, like he really shot him. That’s really what I meant, and I think that was taken wrong. I think that was taken sideways or something else.”
Based on that response, McElroy is right about one thing: Sanders doesn't care about how he comes off in the court of public opinion.
He seemingly couldn't care less. And that's probably the best way to go about building a football program at the end of the day.