Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes are coming off their worst season during his tenure. A season that was so bad, the head coach pledged to fix it.
“We won’t be in this situation again, I promise you that,” Sanders said after the loss to Kansas State.
That press conference was full of discontent and a resolve to do what is necessary so that the Buffaloes are much more than a three-win team in 2026.
“I’m not happy with nothing, right now” Sanders proclaimed. “I wasn’t motivated to get in; I’m not motivated to get out. Getting out (of this) is… what its gonna be! This fan base, this school, Rick (George), everybody deserves much better than this. And we gonna give em much better than this, starting tomorrow.”
Sanders’ tumultuous 2025 offseason
The Buffaloes head coach is admittedly coming off a very bad season. Both in results and optics. Much of the lack of success and the roster turnover can be traced back to the 2025 offseason.
As of the new year (January 2025) Sanders was coming off a 10-4 season that included a Heisman trophy winner, his son was projected as a top 10 pick in the upcoming draft, and the team seemed to be trending in the right direction.
In that same month, Sanders went in for a routine appointment for his leg and blood clots. That appointment revealed a bigger problem. Sanders had bladder cancer. From that moment forward, it’s likely that the cancer treatment just took priority over everything.
It wasn’t until July that Sanders sat in the Dal Ward building on the Colorado campus in Boulder, bookended by his cancer doctor and the assistant trainer. That day a great deal began to make sense. Sanders had been noticeably absent from February to July.
The unescapable truth is that while Sanders was battling cancer, he was forced to do so during the largest window of recruiting. February through July.
“I went through it and I wasn’t here for a period of time. To keep my hands on the product, and I think some things may not have happened had I been (there) and we got it right, now.” Sanders further added, “I’m touching everything that comes in. My eyes are on it all.”
Deciphering Sanders’ change in recruiting philosophy
Once the transfer portal opened, it was expected Sanders would be very aggressive. Yet that was not the case. The first portal signing came days after the portal opened.
Many of which were not highly rated players from contending Power Four schools as was the previous approach.
This time around there is a noticeable difference between the players brought in this year and each of the three years previous. Sanders was pulling most of his transfers from the Group of Five conferences or below.
By the halfway point of the portal window, Sanders looked to be building a Group of Five team that plays at a Power 4 school. Most of the players brought in are 3-stars and the ones coming from Power 4 programs have question marks.
The portal is closed with many top prospects still ‘available’
There are many highly rated players who still remain unsigned. Names like EDGE Damon Wilson II (96), LB Arion Carter (93), WR Cayden Lee (91), RB Makhi Frazier (89).
The transfer portal is not perfect and has some issues as well as loopholes. The largest and most concerning issue is the over 3,200 players who are still in the portal two days after the portal closed. If they don't find a home soon, their careers could be over.
Which begs the question, is the work with the portal finished and he’s content with what they brought in? If not, right now seems like a strange time to take a vacation in Vail.
For those unfamiliar with the geography, Vail is about a two-hour drive from Boulder. It's not like vacationing in Texas or Florida, but the timing still seems strange.
In the aftermath of Sanders’ cancer recovery, he acknowledged that he needs to spend more time enjoying life. He spoke of buying a luxury vehicle and being less resistant to spending and/or enjoying his money. An idea none of his fans are likely to question. Despite that human factor, the timing is not ideal.
January is not the offseason in college football
College football is arguably the only sport in this country where the moment teams are done playing games, the work is just beginning. Colorado’s season was effectively over in the last week of November, but the calendar doesn’t allow for much of a break until after Spring Ball.
Sanders described his 2025 offseason as “I went through hell last year” so its unlikely the average fan is going to see an issue. The man could have died last year, let him enjoy life a little. While that is a reasonable take to have when speaking to just the human element, it raises real optics questions for anyone looking outside of that scope.
2025 was bad. Regardless of the circumstances that caused it, 2025 was bad. So bad in fact, that the head coach in charge made many declarations. There are no consolations prizes. I’m not happy with none of it. They gotta fit. I’m touching everything that comes in.
The promises of change, the demeanor after games, the feeling that this must get fixed right now, and the amount of recruiting information given via social media platforms (something they customarily do) don’t match.
Everything could be fine. Sanders could have reinvented the wheel and created a team that will play well as a unit, despite the lack of players “chasing a bag”, and win many games this season. If that is the case, Sanders will be celebrated for masterminding an unconventional turnaround.
However, if any of that is not the case, all of this looks rather strange. If this team doesn’t play like a conference title contender at minimum in 2026, there will be big questions to answer. With most of those questions pointing back to the ‘how’ Sanders recruited during this cycle.
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