Deion Sanders has been both “Coach Prime” for the Colorado Buffaloes as well as “Father Prime.”
His sons, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and safety Shilo Sanders were under his tutelage as Colorado’s head coach, but that’s going to change next season.
Shedeur is likely to be a top pick in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. Shilo isn’t as highly-regarded as an NFL prospect, but he’s still likely to be drafted at some point on his potential and pedigree alone.
That will leave “Coach Prime” with no offspring in the program for 2025. That may make some fathers sad, but as a coach, Deion is actually looking forward to the ability to just focus on being a head coach.
“I love it because I only have to wear one hat, and you don’t understand how much I appreciate that,” Sanders recently told the media (h/t On3). “When you’re a dad and a coach, you’re wearing two hats. You coach your butt off, but naturally, you’re making sure your kids are alright at the same time, simultaneously.
“I’ve adopted kids on this team that I love to life, and I’m watching them as well, but it’s nothing like your two biological kids. And you can’t help but focus on those young men and see how they’re doing. So it’s different for me. I’m sure it’s different for them, but I’m loving the process. I truly am.”
For years, Sanders has almost seemed like an untouchable sports figure due to his aura and hype, but this may be one of the most relatable things he’s ever said.
Anyone who has ever coached their child’s rec league team, or played for a team coached by a parent, knows that there’s a dichotomy between looking out for your own flesh and blood while wanting what’s best for your players and the team as a whole. Sometimes you’re even tougher on your own kids, but in a way that means you’re treating them differently than the rest of the team.
It’s refreshing to see that even a big-time coach like Sanders understands that pressure. We’ll see how he does at Colorado without his two boys this fall. Through two seasons with the Buffaloes, he’s totaled a 13-12 record.
