USA TODAY International Edition
Colorado hires Sanders
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In a stunning turn of events for one of college football’s most beleaguered programs, Colorado has hired football legend Deion Sanders as its head coach, instantly raising the national profile of a team that has had only two winning seasons in the past 17 years.
Colorado announced the hiring after Sanders coached Jackson State to a 43- 24 win Saturday against Southern in the Southwest Athletic Conference championship game. Sanders finishes with a 27- 5 record in three seasons there, including 12- 0 this year, when his success captured the attention of “60 Minutes,” ESPN’s “College GameDay” and bigger college programs that covet similar national relevance.
The school is expected to pay the Pro Football Hall of Famer at least $ 4.5 million annually and has hatched a plan for success that might just be crazy enough to work for both sides.
“There were a number of highly qualified and impressive candidates interested in becoming the next head football coach at Colorado, but none of them had the pedigree, the knowledge and the ability to connect with student- athletes like Deion Sanders,” Colorado athletic director Rick George said in a statement late Saturday. “Not only will Coach Prime energize our fan base, I’m confident that he will lead our program back to national prominence while leading a team of high quality and high character.”
For Colorado, Sanders, 55, gives the Buffaloes a flamboyant national celebrity who has shown he can do what the program needs – recruit top players from across the country, much like former coach Bill McCartney did in the late 1980s and 1990s, when the Buffaloes were a national powerhouse.
Before he left for Colorado late Saturday, Sanders addressed his team at Jackson State and said the decision wasn’t easy but it also wasn’t about money.
“It’s not about a bag ( money), but it is about an opportunity,” he said. “I always felt like if you dominate your opportunity and you treat people right, the bag is going to always come. I never chased a bag. The bag has always chased me.”