Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders is no longer deserving of being deemed “Prime Time.” As the Athletic’s Sam Settleman noted, CU’s ratings have stabilized from the highs of the Shedeur Sanders/Travis Hunter era, and Coach Prime’s program is second fiddle to both Shedeur’s NFL career with the Cleveland Browns and Bill Belichick’s UNC Tar Heels in “Chapel Bill.”
After the Buffs lost to the Houston Cougars, 36-20, at TDECU Stadium on Friday night, Coach Prime officially lost the plot.
“Among other things, the Colorado teams of the past few seasons were college football’s best magnet for casuals. If you liked CFB but weren’t a diehard, there’s a good chance Colorado became a touchpoint for the sport. In the first three weeks of the 2023 season, Colorado drew 25 million viewers, the most in the sport. Boulder was a destination. The TV audiences got a good deal smaller last year, but Colorado was still a big story with Deion coaching, Shedeur Sanders quarterbacking and Travis Hunter winning the Heisman Trophy,” Settleman wrote.
“This year is different. Shedeur, the Browns’ No. 3 QB, gets more national attention than Colorado altogether. Hunter is a Jaguar. If a casual fan wants to tune into college football to see how a famous guy is doing as a head coach, Bill Belichick might be the first choice.”
Belichick’s dysfunction in Chapel Hill, created by headline after headline of his girlfriend/fiancée Jordon Hudson being inappropriately involved with the program, has become the polarizing story of the college football world. Colorado going 9-3 last season and barely missing a Big 12 Championship Game berth permanently changed the false narrative that Deion couldn’t coach.
The Buffs’ QB issues, meanwhile, are making everyone think of the better times when Shedeur manned the position in Boulder. That Shedeur’s backup, Ryan Staub, is the closest to QB1 the team has seen this season has only increased nostalgia for the CU legend.
Once the financial impact on the university and community wears off, Coach Prime may not be able to get away with the same things he’s been able to. Then again, his health may dictate that he can’t keep up with even the reduced schedule he has after spending time away due to bladder cancer this past offseason.
Deion seemingly isn’t long for college football. Especially if he’s overshadowed by his own son riding the bench on an NFL bottom-feeder. And another head coach who’s far more dysfunctional than he could ever dream of stealing the interest and big-money national TV matchups.
Or, if he’s not having fun. Or if he isn’t making enough money to justify the stress of being a Power 4 head coach.