Colorado names Deion Sanders as head coach
10:33 PM ET Pete ThamelESPN Deion Sanders will be the next coach at Colorado, the school
announced Saturday night, instantly making him one of the most compelling hires in college football this generation.Sanders comes with just 3 years’experience coaching college football, as he went 27-5 as Jackson State’s coach. Jackson State(12-0)completed an undefeated regular season Saturday with a 43-24 blowout of Southern for the SWAC championship.Sanders informed his team of his departure soon after Saturday’s win. He is still slated to coach Jackson State in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17 versus North Carolina Central, sources told ESPN. Sanders’ arrival provides a much-needed adrenaline shot to a
Colorado program that has actually had two gaining seasons given that 2005 and losing seasons in 5 of the previous 6 years. Because 2005, Colorado has churned through the forgettable periods of Karl Dorrell, Mel Tucker, Mike MacIntyre, Jon Embree, Dan Hawkins and Gary Barnett.With Sanders’arrival, Colorado will instantly become one of the most interesting programs in the country. He right away turns into one of the most identifiable coaches in the sport, and Colorado’s unexpected attention comes at a time when the Pac-12 is on the precipice of losing both USC and UCLA to the Big Ten in 2024. Unexpectedly, Colorado is a buzzy program.Sanders is a renowned American professional athlete, a member of both the Pro Football and College Football Halls of Popularity.
He played in the NFL for 14 seasons, won 2 Super Bowls and also bet numerous Major League Baseball teams from 1989 through 2001. He brings reliability, charm and deep ties in the state of Texas– where he coached in high school for seven years prior to Jackson State– to start a recruiting pipeline.Sanders is a defiant extrovert who has actually long purposefully prevented humbleness and looked for to be the focal point. He’s known as”Coach Prime,”and that outsized persona will be needed, as Colorado is a program with no real identity that’s severely delayed in fundraising for NIL for its professional athletes.” There were a variety of extremely qualified and remarkable prospects thinking about ending up being the next head football coach at Colorado, however none had the pedigree, the knowledge and the ability to connect with student-athletes like Deion Sanders,”Colorado AD Rick George said in a statement.” Not only will Coach Prime energize our fanbase, I’m positive that he will lead our program back to national prominence while leading a group of high quality and high character. “FBS Rank PPG 15.4 127th Opp PPG 44.5 Last PPG diff -29.1 Last YPG 281.3 128th Opp YPG 509.8 130th TO margin -11 T-124th >> Out of 131 groups To provoke change, Sanders will need to conquer the old-fashioned infrastructure and
a trend that has emerged in college basketball just recently, with noteworthy former players like Cent Hardaway (Memphis), Jerry Stackhouse( Vanderbilt )and Juwan Howard(Michigan)
making prominent positions in college basketball.Sanders told his group in a meeting posted online after the game that his decision wasn’t about money– “it’s not about a bag”– however rather the opportunity to produce opportunities for African American coaches.”I seem like I need to find a solution for it,”he said.
“There’s been four or more African American coaches at the next level that have actually been ended. I haven’t heard not one other … than a candidate like myself to change them. So to me, that’s a problem that many don’t consider. However that’s a problem, if somebody does not step up and march, that’s an issue.”Sanders included:”My challenge is still to provoke modification, no matter where I am. I’m 55 and do not intend on altering anytime soon. God made me like this, and I think God is pleased with what he created.”