Former Dallas Cowboys star and NFL Hall-of-Famer Deion “Prime Time” Sanders is leaving Jackson State after three seasons to take over the football program at Colorado.
Sanders had been hired by Jackson State in September 2020 and turned a 4-8 team into an FCS powerhouse with a 27-5 record during his tenure. The Tigers finished this season with a 12-0 record and a second consecutive SWAC title.
Sanders’s son, Shedeur, is expected to follow him from Jackson State to Boulder. The younger Sanders is a former four-star recruit who has thrown for over 6,600 yards and 86 touchdowns in just two seasons as the Jackson State starting quarterback.
During his introductory press conference, Deion asked his son to stand up and told the media, “This is your quarterback. He’s going to have to earn it, though.”
Rick George, Colorado athletic director, and Philip DiStefano, university chancellor, lauded the Hall-of-Famer’s experience and dedication to his job and echoed the national sentiment of his potential impact on a dormant college football program.
George said in a press release, “There were a number of highly qualified and impressive candidates interested in becoming the next head football coach at Colorado, but none of them had the pedigree, the knowledge and the ability to connect with student-athletes like Deion Sanders. Not only will Coach Prime energize our fanbase, I’m confident that he will lead our program back to national prominence while leading a team of high quality and high character.”
“Deion Sanders’ stature transcends sports, and his hiring elevates not only the football program but the university as a whole,” said DiStefano. “I’m thankful Deion has chosen to join our Buffalo family and I applaud Rick George for a truly inspired choice. This is an exciting new chapter in the long, storied history of Colorado football and I look forward to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our students, supporters and fans to cheer on “Coach Prime” and our student-athletes next fall.”
Deion Sanders becomes the 28th head coach in Colorado football history and replaces interim head coach Mike Sanford, who took control of the team after Karl Dorrell was fired following a loss to Arizona in October. The Buffaloes finished the season 1-11 with an overtime win over California-Berkeley.
In Dorrell’s three seasons at Colorado, the Buffaloes only qualified for a bowl game once, during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, which concluded with a loss to Texas in the Alamo Bowl. The team has not finished a normal season with a winning record since 2016. The Buffaloes last won a National Championship in 1990.
The 55-year-old Sanders had been drafted fifth overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1989 NFL Draft and played 14 seasons in the NFL and 11 seasons as a professional baseball player. He won two Super Bowls during his illustrious career – including one with the Cowboys in 1996 – and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
According to NCAA.com, Coach Prime will remain with Jackson State through the Celebration Bowl against North Carolina Central on December 17 and has recommended that the school replace him with wide receivers coach T.C. Taylor.
