There has been speculation about the end of the Deion Sanders era in Boulder since the moment he first took the Colorado job. Fans, particularly those not fond of Coach Prime, have been adamant in their belief that Sanders would be looking for a way out following the departures of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders.
A broken clock is right twice a day, and eventually those fans will be right, too. One day, Sanders will leave Colorado. Whether it's for another job or whether he's just walking away from coaching. That day could come as early as tomorrow, though it still seems unlikely, despite the best wishes of the armchair know-it-alls.
Sanders has been notably absent from Boulder for a few months. He has once again been dealing with health-related issues that have unfortunately been prevalent for the Pro Football Hall of Famer in the last few years. His current issues are not yet known, but many have assumed he is once again dealing with the blood-clots that have long been an issue for him.
Deion Sanders' upcoming press conference has people expecting the worst
An answer to that question seems to finally be coming. Sanders is back at Colorado now and will be hosting a press conference Monday morning with his medical team there to help answer questions. The presence of his medical team has led to more questions and rampant speculation, with many believing Sanders is either going to immediately walk away or is just laying the groundwork for a future exit, ala Urban Meyer at Florida.
That, of course, doesn't take into account the very real health issues that Coach Prime has endured in recent years. I don't believe his losing a couple of toes was part of a grand scheme to walk away from coaching.
But people on social media have been running with the Urban Meyer theory. Meyer had reported health problems in the aftermath of Florida's 2009 SEC Championship Game loss to Alabama, and with Tim Tebow exhausting his eligibility, many speculated he was looking for an exit to avoid a rebuild in Gainesville.
Meyer announced his resignation, changed it to a leave of absence, took a few months off during the offseason, and then returned as the Gators' coach for the 2010 season. He "retired" following the 2010 season and a 7-5 record. Meyer ultimately took the 2011 season off before resurfacing as the head coach at Ohio State in 2012.
Of course, Meyer had a higher pedigree as a coach than Sanders and was always going to be highly sought after on the coaching market. He won two National Championships during his time at Florida. While Sanders has undeniably done a good job turning around the Buffaloes, his 13-12 overall record at the FBS level is not going to put him in as high of a demand on the open market if he took a similar sabbatical. He'd have a market, but it is debatable whether he would find a better job than the one he currently has.
Colorado has given Sanders all he needs to succeed. He has complete control of the program, has had zero issues acquiring talent, and is in a wide-open conference that should afford him strong opportunities to ultimately win the league and make the College Football Playoff down the line.
Colorado may have to take a small step backward in 2025 to accomplish that, as replacing Shedeur at QB and two-way superstar Travis Hunter won't be easy, but Coach Prime is building a sustainable winner in Boulder. It's unlikely he would walk away from that, unless his health issues have just made it impossible for him to be on the sidelines.