Prime Opportunity: Deion Sanders Excited For The Chance To 'Just Be A Coach' At Colorado, Not Also A Dad

Deion Sanders walked into the first team meeting at Colorado for the 2025 season excited about the opportunity of only being a coach for the Buffaloes next season, and not also a dad. 

Now that Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders, along with Travis Hunter, are moving onto their futures in the NFL, there's going to be a different feel around the football building at Colorado. After spending the majority of his time coaching his two kids through high school and college, Deion Sanders is now roaming the halls of the complex as just ‘coach’. 

Gone are the days of having film breakdowns with Shedeur, along with scheming up defenses with Shilo and Travis Hunter. 

What the group did to this point won't be forgotten, especially by the folks who thought Sanders couldn’t get it done at both Jackson State and Colorado. After finishing the 2024 season with a 9-4 record, the opportunity to continue building the Buffaloes program is the main priority for Deion and his coaching staff, hoping to take the next step in making the 2025 college football playoff. 

Travis Hunter won the 2024 Heisman Trophy 

Deion Sanders Excited For Challenge At Colorado Without Kids

The start of winter workouts is the signal that the attention has now shifted towards the future, which Deion Sanders discussed during Colorado's first team meeting on Sunday. While he will surely miss having his family around, you could tell that Sanders was excited for the next step in his journey as a head coach. 

"It's an honor and a privilege to be standing before you. I can't explain how happy, and how thoughtful, and how thankful I am for this day," Deion Sanders told the team. "I have been praying about this day, I've been anticipating this day. You gotta understand this is an emotional day for me. This is the first day I've been up here without two knuckleheads ...Shilo told me I was gonna get mad at him for not being in the meeting today, knowing he's not supposed to be in the meeting today. 

"But, this is the first day I'm coaching without my boys, which is a pleasure and honor for me. So now I can just be a coach, I don't have to be no dad. I like that, I love that. But I feel like I'm going to treat somebody in here, or the multitude of y'all in here like you’re my sons, because I love y'all that much because you could’ve chose anybody, but you chose us. And I feel like you chose me."

Coach Prime, Colorado Replacing And Rebuilding For 2025 Season

While there will obviously be a rebuilding process on offense without the services of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, Colorado has done a good job at addressing those needs through high school recruiting and the transfer portal.

As the Buffaloes look forward to a feisty battle at the quarterback position during the winter and spring periods, they've got some talent to work with to replace Shedeur. Deion Sanders made a massive splash when the Buffs signed 5-star QB Julian ‘JuJu’ Lewis this past recruiting cycle. Obviously, he is the quarterback of the future, but Colorado made sure to get a guy who could lead this program right now.

Deion Sanders Confirms OutKick Report About Allure Of NFL But Circumstances Likely Keep Him At Colorado

Former Liberty QB Kaidon Salter, who dazzled for the Flames in 2023 with 2,876 passing yards and 32 touchdowns. He did take a step back last season, throwing for only 15 touchdowns. But, the opportunity to get back to his 2023 self is why Colorado decided to snag him from the transfer portal. He will have every chance to win the starting job, and this would give Julian Lewis the ability to grow as a college athlete. 

Colorado QB Julian Lewis should have time to grow as a college quarterback (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Deion Sanders has also made sure to beef-up his offensive line, adding four linemen, which include Ole Miss transfer Mana Taimani, who committed on Saturday. 

I imagine this new challenge for Coach Prime is going to be an interesting storyline to follow during Spring practice in a few months. But it will clearly take some time to get used to not seeing Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter wreaking havoc on opposing teams while Deion Sanders watches on. 

As for all the NFL talk surrounding Deion Sanders, it sounds like his focus is on preparing for the 2025 season with Colorado, and not following his kids to the next level.