Strike 1: The odds are still that Deion Sanders remains the head football coach at the University of Colorado going into the 2025 season.

But those odds are not overwhelming.

There’s still a reasonable chance Deion is offered – and accepts – the job of being the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. There’s some speculation that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may be in the process of lining up two top flight coordinators to work with Sanders as the reason for his delay in naming a replacement for Mike McCarthy. It’s not that far-fetched of an idea. Coming off his best season as a head coach, and having coached Heisman winner Travis Hunter and his QB son Shedeur for the final time (at the college level, at least) it’s actually the best time possible for Deion to try to take another step up in his coaching career.

Regardless of whether he stays or goes, Deion will be just fine.

But if he does leave Boulder, where does that leave CU?

The cult following that Sanders has developed and brought with him to the base of the Flatirons via his never ending self-marketing efforts has yielded big dividends off the field, as well as improved fortunes for the Buffaloes on the field (13-12 record and a bowl appearance in his two seasons.) Unlike almost any other coach, there’s simply not another Deion Sanders to hire as a replacement. Rick George and the CU brass can replace the football coach, but not the personality/marketer. Deion has successfully put CU football back on the national map with far more than X’s and O’s. The question is, can anyone else keep them there?

Because of their circumstances – being a secondary player in a marketplace dominated by the local NFL team – CU will continue to need both head coach and program promoter moving forward. No question that two plus years of Deion has enhanced the image of CU and made the job more attractive for potential replacements. However, the next guy, whoever he is, will still have an enormous challenge in front of him.

For starters, there’s little doubt that Deion’s departure would be followed by a boatload of players transferring out of the CU program, regardless of who is named his replacement. If it’s someone already on staff, like well-respected defensive coordinator Robert Livingston, for example, that might stem the tide of players transferring out. But does Livingston have enough of an image and reputation outside the CU locker room to attract transfers to come to CU over the summer?

Deion’s huge personality did a very large portion of his recruiting. Livingston, or whomever the new head coach is, won’t simply be able to summon prospects to have an audience with him in Boulder. It will be back to the old fashioned way of hitting the road and visiting recruits at their place. And in today’s new sped up recruiting world with a compacted time frame, time is of the essence.

So who would be best suited for the task of filling the huge void left by the guy who gave himself a nickname that not only stuck, but became a marketing tool too?

Livingston is well thought of among those close to the program, and will no doubt be a leading in-house candidate. So might offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, a man with NFL head coaching experience on his resume. Or does CU want to try to continue with the “celebrity” head coach formula, and reach out to someone like College Football Hall of Famer (and former actor) Eddie George, currently the successful head coach at Tennessee State and the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year?

There would be numerous national candidates, including guys like head coach Jeff Traylor from University of Texas San Antonio, or the head man at Liberty University, Jeremy Chadwell. However, bringing in someone like that – just a solid football coach minus the celebrity status – means starting over, almost from scratch.

Who can keep up the Deion momentum on – and more importantly off – the field?

A previous bridge having been burned to the ground, would there be any chance that CU would try to make amends and reach out to former Buff and NFL OC Eric Bienemy?

This isn’t just another head coaching gig we’re talking about. This bar has been raised off the field even more than on it. The next CU HC – whenever he arrives – will have to bring some swagger and an oversized personality with him in order to meet his new obligations.