With one simple tweet, University of Colorado football had themselves a Friday night. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that following the SWAC championship game on Saturday, Deion Sanders will become the next football coach for the CU Buffs.
Sources: Deion Sanders and his associates have spent the week recruiting on-field staff, support staff and transfer portal players to Colorado. While a deal isn’t finalized, Sanders has been preparing for his exit to Boulder for after the SWAC title game. https://t.co/qDxbratFZq
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 3, 2022
This caps a weeklong watch that began when reports surfaced that the CU athletic director Rick George offered the current Jackson State football coach the same position in Boulder. Later in the week, Sanders confirmed the report.
Speculation only ramped up on Friday when CBS 4’s Justin Adams said that the Buffs were offering Coach Prime north of $5 million per year to head to Boulder.
Sources confirm to me @CUBoulder is offering @DeionSanders more than $5 million per year to be the @CUBuffsFootball next head coach. https://t.co/vrSCZ9oULV
— Justin Adams (@justinadamsTV) December 2, 2022
This would be a dramatic reversal of fortunes for a program that has fallen on hard times in recent years. Following an unexpected exit by Mel Tucker in Feb. 2020, the Buffs looked to someone with loyalty to the program and hired Karl Dorrell.
His first season was a success, but the Buffs regressed in 2021 and most notably this season. After an 0-5 start, George fired Dorrell and named Mike Sanford the interim head coach. The Buffs finished the 2022 season 1-11.
But there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel. When pen is put to paper, Sanders will become the 28th full-time coach in CU history. But perhaps none will enter the job with more notoriety – or for that matter, expectations – than Sanders.
A formal announcement will likely come late Saturday or sometime Sunday as the details of the agreement are finalized. But the one thing that’s for certain, is that when Jackson State’s game goes final on Saturday, all eyes will be glued on Boulder and Prime Watch will officially be on.
