By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-14 14:17:11 | Updated at 2024-12-25 01:47:05
1 week ago
Speculation about Deion Sanders' future in Boulder is reaching an all-time high as more NFL teams find themselves in need of a new head coach.
Just don't bother Travis Hunter with these rumors, because Colorado's two-way star and Heisman candidate knows Coach Prime is sticking around for at least a third season with the Buffaloes.
'I got a lot of insight. He ain't going nowhere. He's going to be right where he's at right now,' Hunter said Friday in Manhattan, where he's a heavy favorite to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night.
In his second season at the school, Sanders coached No. 20 Colorado to a 9-3 record this year and its first bowl bid since 2020. Hunter, Sanders and the Buffaloes will face No. 17 BYU (10-2) in the Alamo Bowl on December 28.
Sanders' success and popularity in Boulder has led to speculation the flashy and outspoken former NFL star might seek or accept a coaching job elsewhere this offseason. Sanders, however, has dismissed such talk himself.
Hunter followed Sanders from Jackson State, an HBCU that plays in the lower level FCS, to the Rocky Mountains and has already racked up a staggering string of individual accolades this week, including The Associated Press player of the year.
Deion Sanders is wrapping up his second season in Boulder and seems likely to return
Hunter is considered a favorite to win the Heisman after starring on offense and defense
The junior wide receiver and cornerback plans to enter the 2025 NFL draft and is expected to be a top-five pick — perhaps even No. 1 overall.
But he backed up assertions from Sanders and his son, star Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, that both will play in the Alamo Bowl rather than skip the game to prepare for the draft and prevent any possible injury.
'It's definitely important because, you know, I started this thing with Coach Prime and Shedeur and most of the coaches on the coaching staff, so I want to finish it off right,' Hunter said.
'I didn't give them a full season my first year (because of injury), so I'm going to go ahead and end this thing off right. It's going to be our last game together, so I'm going to go out there and dominate and show the loyalty that I have for him.
'Definitely looking forward to it. I'm just excited to go out there and play football one more time before the offseason.'
Sanders, the former NFL and MLB star, has previously shot down the notion he'll be leaving Boulder for the NFL.
'No place needs people to encourage people to be better than they are besides Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys ,' Sanders' former rival and teammate Michael Irvin told the Buffaloes' coach on FS1's 'Speak' last month.
'I know you're focused day to day, you're a day-to-day man, but can you…'
'Don't start that,' Sanders interrupted. 'I love it where I am.'
Sanders then stood up from his desk during the video-call interview and walked his laptop over to the window to show Fox Sports' panel Colorado's Folsom Field, via satellite.
'I love it where I am,' repeated Sanders, whose team wa coming off a 34-27 win over Texas Tech.
The discussion fizzled out from there, but this isn't likely to be the last Sanders hears about the Cowboys job.
Deion Sanders (left) didn't want to hear any speculation on Dallas from Michael Irvin (right)
Dallas Cowboys teammates Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders prepare before the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 31, 1997 at Three Rivers Stadium
Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie, left, and Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jone
Dallas is currently 5-8 under coach Mike McCarthy after quarterback Dak Prescott was lost to season-ending hamstring surgery.
'People want to be around him,' ex-Colts center and current Get Up co-host Jeff Saturday said of Sanders. 'This guy, he exudes success.
'He holds guys accountable,' Saturday continued. 'That's what Dallas needs.'
ESPN NFL Insider Kimberley Martin didn't dismiss Sanders as a candidate in Dallas, but said the real issue is that the next Cowboys coach will still be dealing with Jones, who needs to change.
Jones has faced persistent criticism this season for bringing back McCarthy, who has a single playoff win since being hired in 2020, and his failure to build a defense. Dallas currently ranks 31st in points allowed and 26 in defensive yardage.
The 57-year-old Sanders is perhaps best remembered for his five years in Atlanta, but it was in Dallas where he may have had his greatest success.
The former three-sport star at Florida State won his second Super Bowl with the Cowboys in 1995 after coming over from the World Champion San Francisco 49ers and remained one of the league's premiere cornerbacks deep into his 30s.
