Rumors had been swirling for weeks about where then, Coach Prime of Jackson State in Mississippi would end up after being pursued heavily by both the University of Southern Florida (USF) and the University of Colorado (CU).
Last week CU turned up the pressure by officially offering Sanders the head coaching position. Sanders spent three seasons as the head coach of the HBCU, Jackson State where he compiled a winning record of 26-5 and finished the 2022 regular season 11-0.
Sanders, who entered the NFL draft from Florida State in 1985 was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons where he played defensive back until 1993 when he was signed by the San Francisco 49ers, having, arguably his best season. Sanders went on to play for three more teams (Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens) before retiring from football.
Sanders career in football was just part of this sports Renaissance man career. Sanders also played professional baseball for the New York Yankees debuting on May 31, 1989. That season Sanders hit a major league homerun and scored an NFL touchdown all in the same week. Sanders is the only athlete to have played in both the Super Bowl and a World Series.
Sanders went on to play with the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, the San Francisco Giants and the Toronto Blue Jays. Today Sanders continues to feed his competitive spirit by leading young men on the field.
On Saturday, Sanders held a press conference where he accepted the head coaching position with the CU Buffs. Since his arrival in Boulder Sanders has spoken with both the media and his players addressing the cultural shift he intends to instill at the University.
Sanders arrival in Boulder has been a whirlwind of excitement for both the staff and fans of the Buffs. Included with Sanders arrival was his son Shedeur Sanders who Sanders introduced as the new quarterback. While many across the state of Colorado and the CU alumni have celebrated his arrival, Sanders has taken much criticism for his departure from Jackson State. Despite those criticisms Sanders remains poised to change both the culture and decades long winless seasons the University has endured.
Recent reports have pointed to Sanders hiring Kent State’s Sean Lewis for the offensive coordinator position while reports have also pointed to former Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer being tapped for the defensive coordinator position.
In other sports the Denver Nuggets have lost two of three games since last Wednesday (both road games) with losses to the New Orleans Pelicans (Sunday night) and the Atlanta Hawks (Friday night) and a win over the Houston Rockets last Wednesday.
The Colorado Avalanche have lost three of their last four since last Tuesday, to the Winnipeg Jets (Tuesday night), the Boston Bruins (Saturday night) and the Philadelphia Flyers (Monday night). Colorado’s only win came against the Buffalo Sabres (Thursday night). The Avalanche losses are concerning with their losses coming by a combined score 15 – 4.
