As Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes look to secure a College Football Playoff bid, many in the media are speculating about Coach Prime’s job prospects for next season.
Plenty of pundits, most notably Michael Irvin, have floated the possibility that Sanders could leave Colorado after this season to coach the Dallas Cowboys, perhaps even with his son Shedeur at quarterback.
On Thursday, Colorado alum and Fox Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt went on the Dan Patrick Show to throw cold water on that theory.
Fox Sports color analyst and Colorado Alum @JoelKlatt says that Deion Sanders told him last Friday that he does not want to go to the #NFL because his calling is to impact and be a mentor to young men. pic.twitter.com/BKaLEIoVVx
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) November 21, 2024
“I asked [Sanders] last Friday, ‘Do you want to go to the NFL?’ And he looked at me and he said, ‘No.’ And I said, ‘Why?’ And he said, ‘Because I don’t feel like I would be fulfilling my calling and my purpose if I was there.’ And I asked him to expand on that. And he said, ‘Listen, my calling is to impact young men and be a mentor to young men. I happen to do that through coaching. And I feel like I can do that better at the college level than I could with a bunch of professionals that might listen to me and might not listen to me because of the amount of money they’re being paid.'”
That conversation didn’t stop Klatt from hedging a little if an NFL opportunity presented itself to Coach Prime.
“If Dallas makes him a great offer and his son is there, like could he go? Yeah, of course he could go. Do I think that he desperately wants to? I don’t think that that’s the case. So if the opportunity arises, Dan, could he coach the Cowboys? Yes. And I think he would probably be really successful at it. I also know that he loves being at Colorado, and I won’t be surprised at all if he stays there.”
Sanders started his FBS head coaching career last season by turning a winless Colorado team into a four-win team. Now, he’s turned that four-win team into an 8-2 outfit with a chance to make the College Football Playoff. Given the media circus that followed him last season, Sanders’ success this year has gone comparatively unnoticed.
Nevertheless, when a coach’s trajectory goes the direction that Coach Prime finds himself on, they’re bound to get looks for bigger and better jobs. An opportunity to coach his son at the highest level may prove too good to pass up, if it happens.
That said, plenty of coaches do find their calling at the college level. And if Sanders’ motivations are what Klatt suggests — that he wants to mentor young men — he may be better suited to stay in Boulder.
Given his success this season, it’s inevitable that Sanders will be floated for whatever high-profile jobs open up this offseason. But for now, Sanders seems singularly focused on the Buffaloes.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.