Jackson State defeated Southern in the SWAC Championship Game on Saturday. Before the game, after the game and even during the game, the rumors that Jackson State’s head coach, Deion Sanders, would be heading to Colorado were unavoidable. Shortly after the game ended, Sanders confirmed the news.
Carl Reed of CBS Sports reported that Sanders told the Tigers after the game that he was taking the Colorado job.
Coach Deion Sanders has just informed his team that he is accepting the position as Head Football Coach at the University Of Colorado.
— Carl Reed Jr. (@CoachReedLive) December 4, 2022
The announcement was met with a great deal of enthusiasm and optimism for what lies ahead for Sanders, Colorado and the Pac-12 as a whole.
PAC 12 Media Day just got a whole lot more interesting https://t.co/Hn8zPabmOQ
— Scott Garrard (@ScottyGZone) December 4, 2022
LETS GO!!!!! https://t.co/pC02jdz08r
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) December 4, 2022
@DeionSanders is going to be fantastic at Colorado. They’ll recruit at a high level, get tons more attention than they do now, and win like they did in the 90s.
I’d let my son play for him in a heartbeat. He’s a great coach and mentor. He’ll certainly be missed in Jackson. https://t.co/48Adpc0cbU
— Austin Barbour (@Austin_Barbour) December 4, 2022
Prime Time and Kyle Whittingham in the same conference … Sports, the gift that keeps on giving! https://t.co/5shcvjmjXi
— 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 (@MikeFPrater) December 4, 2022
Good luck to the Pac-12 coaches who leave the in home visit and know they got Coach Prime scheduled after https://t.co/0kal7Ag9e4
— Gerald Alexander (@GAlexander21) December 4, 2022
Pac-12 Primetime. Let’s do it. https://t.co/p7nrVcEMHS
— Dean Straka (@DWStraka49) December 4, 2022
Sanders has his work cut out for him in Boulder. The Buffaloes became a part of the Pac-12 in 2013. In the 10 subsequent seasons, Colorado has gone 44-73 and 24-61 in the conference with only two winning seasons (2016 and 2020). Things were especially bad for the Buffaloes in 2022 as they went 1-8 in the Pac-12 and 1-11 overall.
But Sanders experienced a lot of success at Jackson State. Not only did he lead the Tigers to a 12-0 record in 2022, but Sanders went 27-5 with the program in three years. That’s a particularly impressive mark when we remember that before Sanders arrived in 2020, the Tigers hadn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2013. He’s also been good (frustratingly good for the liking of some coaches) on the recruiting trail.
So, it won’t be easy for Sanders in Colorado. But his track record says that we shouldn’t bet against him, either.
[Carl Reed on Twitter]
