Sanders more of a provocateur than a coach lately
If Deion Sanders’ goal is to become a professional provocateur, then he’s putting together one heck of an audition.
Sanders would be a great TV pundit akin to a Stephen A Smith. He’s edgy, biting, entertaining and polarizing. That’s the perfect ESPN resume.
If Sanders’ goal, though, is to become a good FBS coach – which is, you know, the job he has now – then I fail to see how his theatrics lately help him.
Sanders, last week, inserted himself into a social media tit-for-tat involving his son, Shedeur, Colorado’s quarterback; another Colorado player; a former Buffaloes player who transferred; and a player at Austin Peay.
This whole thing became an exercise in absurdity. Coach Prime entered the online spat by posting a zinger at an FCS player. That’s hardly a crime, but dunking on people on X wastes time for an FBS coach whom you’d think might want to focus on improving a team that finished 4-8 last season.
If you haven’t followed along with this beef, here’s the background: Sanders ran scores of players off Colorado’s roster before the 2023 season. Although Sanders could’ve displayed more tact in ushering players into the transfer portal, he understandably needed to reshape the roster after inheriting a team that finished 1-11.
The Athletic recently published an in-depth story on Sanders’ roster overhaul. Some players interviewed for that story cast Sanders in an unflattering light for how he carried out the culling. Nothing in the story seemed particularly shocking, and the narrative could’ve quickly died on the vine.
Sanders and his son refused to let it wither.
Deion Sanders enters online spat
The Athletic quoted former Colorado defensive back Xavier Smith saying that Coach Prime destroyed players’ confidence and cut players without compassion. Smith transferred to Austin Peay and later UTEP. Shedeur clapped back by posting that he didn’t even remember Smith, before contracting himself and adding that Smith was “mid,” which is Gen Z’s way of saying someone is nothing special.
Colorado wide receiver Kalen Mathis entered the conversation, and Austin Peay defensive back Jaheim Ward mocked Mathis’ performance. After an anonymous social media account then made fun of Ward’s stats, Deion Sanders responded to Ward’s stats by posting: “Lawd Jesus.”
The whole thing amounted to harmless trash talk among players until Coach Prime entered the fray amid his spree of posts following The Athletic’s story. This only served to amplify that article. Maybe, Sanders aimed to lighten the mood or support his players, but cryptic posts are easily misinterpreted. One alternative interpretation is that Sanders punched down and acted like a Prime jerk to an FCS player.
Oh, sure, it drummed up engagement. So do Youtube cat videos. I’ve yet to see a direct causation, though, of social media impressions spurring national championships.
Shouldn’t focus be more on recruiting?
Although Sanders’ posts didn’t amount to anything overly acerbic, I wondered: Shouldn’t he have something better to do as he ostensibly tries to rebuild a program that has two winning seasons in the past 18 years?
By engaging in this silliness, Sanders came off petty and self-absorbed, which is unsurprising if you’ve monitored his tenure. My other thought: Who would want to play for this guy? He’s not exactly disproving The Athletic’s narrative that he’s a callous coach focused on furthering his own brand.
While Sanders is posting on social media, here’s what he isn’t doing: Going on recruiting visits.
USA TODAY reported earlier this spring that in Sanders’ first 14 months as Colorado’s coach, he never left campus for a recruiting visit. His 2025 recruiting class features just three commitments. Among the programs out-recruiting Sanders in the 247Sports rankings: Toledo, Miami (Ohio), Northwestern and Boston College.
That’s not the Louis Vuitton roster Sanders promised. That’s not even Samsonite.
When Colorado hired Sanders, I didn’t know how he’d build a staff or whether he’d be cut out to coach in the FBS. I did think he’d prove adept at navigating the NIL marketplace and become a magnet for talent. This hasn’t happened at the rate I expected. Although he’s acquired plenty of transfers, he hasn’t signed much high school talent.
Here’s what I overlooked: While few know better than Prime how to build a brand, he’s always been about his business. He still is. He went on tour in the spring promoting his book. He’s installed his own media crew to document his tenure. He spares no opportunity to hawk his “Coach Prime” brand. He touts his son’s NFL credentials.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of that, but sales of Sanders’ book, “Elevate and Dominate,” won’t help Colorado elevate and dominate. Only old-fashioned recruiting, retention and development will achieve that.
Sanders’ self-promotion foremost serves one person: Deion.
As Oregon coach Dan Lanning put it before his Ducks pasted Colorado last season: “They’re fighting for clicks. We’re fighting for wins. There’s a difference, right?”
Absolutely, there is.
A provocateur’s job is to get clicks. A coach’s job is to get wins, unless he’s simply auditioning for his next role in front of the camera.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s SEC Columnist.