In 2025, we find ourselves in the third year of the Coach Prime experiment. Coach Prime—of course—being Deion Sanders, the NFL Hall of Famer and current head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU). I call his tenure an experiment because it has been so up and down; there is no better way to describe it than as a test case for modern college football.
On Dec. 3, 2022, when Sanders was named the next head coach at Colorado, everyone in Boulder felt hopeful about the future. After nearly three decades with only a few bright spots, we finally had a coach who seemed poised to bring prominence back to the school. I grew up watching Colorado games, and the last one I attended before Prime’s arrival was a 21-63 blowout loss to Utah, emblematic of the general experience during that time period. The stadium was—at best—10 percent full of Colorado faithful by the end of the game.
The next fall, we sold out every single home game with ease. It was reported that in the fall of 2023, the Colorado football team brought in $113 million in economic impact to the Boulder community. Needless to say, I, and almost every other CU fan I know, am a massive supporter of Coach Prime and continue to be.
While Sanders has always been a flashy character, he is also deeply ethical and made it clear from day one that his main goal as head coach was to help the young men on his team grow as human beings, regardless of wins and losses. As a devout Christian who wears the initials “JC” on his sleeve every game, he has been adamant that his work is about something much larger than football.
In 2023, this commitment became even more evident. After a hot start that included a win over the 2022 national runner-up Texas Christian University (TCU) and a 3-0 record, the team lost eight of its next nine games, finishing with a disappointing 4-8 record and missing bowl eligibility entirely in the final season of the Pac-12. Prime remained focused on the goal of shaping these young men into better humans regardless of game outcomes. Going into the fall of 2024, questions swirled about whether Sanders could right the ship and meet the expectations set by both the Boulder faithful and the wider college football world.
In their first year of Big 12 play, the Buffaloes finished the season 9-4, with a loss to Brigham Young University (BYU) in the Valero Alamo Bowl, arguably the most coveted non-College Football Playoff bowl game. The biggest reason for their success was the combination of Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 overall draft pick Travis Hunter, who played both wide receiver and cornerback, and Sanders’ youngest son, Shedeur Sanders, who won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as quarterback. This duo carried much of the weight for that 2024 team and cemented Colorado’s resurgence under Coach Prime.
After losing both Hunter and Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft, fans were left wondering how the coaching staff would replace those roles. Those questions about the quarterback were answered after a prolonged and highly scrutinized recruitment of five-star recruit Julian Lewis, where CU beat out the University of Southern California. After Lewis’ commitment, fans could finally breathe a sigh of relief, only to be surprised again by the signing of Liberty University fifth-year transfer Kaidon Salter, a dynamic dual-threat quarterback who had an award-winning career with the Liberty Flames. Outside of those two, the team looked fundamentally sound and skilled, less reliant on clutch moments and more focused on solid, disciplined football.
Another offseason surprise was the announcement of Coach Prime’s summertime battle with bladder cancer. In a press conference filled with gratitude and faith, he spoke about the hardship and pain he had endured throughout the process. He had kept his condition under wraps from the team until the day before the announcement when he was able to share that the cancer was in remission. Though his life would be changed forever, he was ready to coach another season and make the most of his calling, regardless of the strenuous circumstances.
This season got off to a rocky start, with a seven-point loss to current No. 8 Georgia Tech in the AP Top 25. Kaidon Salter started at quarterback as the team chose to let Lewis develop for a year, and the rest of the squad showed flashes of greatness against a strong opponent. In Week 2 against Delaware, Coach Prime played three quarterbacks, starting with Salter, giving Lewis a few snaps and then playing Ryan Staub, longtime backup to Shedeur Sanders and a fan favorite. Staub played well, going 7-for-10 for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the second half of the Buffs’ 31-7 win over the Blue Hens.
While Salter had played well enough through the first two starts, Staub showed he had that spark, and this left Coach Prime with a dilemma: Who should start in Week 3? Week 3 proved to be a test for the Buffs. With Staub as the starter, they opened Big 12 play down only two points at halftime in their first away game of the year. But things fell apart in the second half, resulting in a 36-20 loss against a solid, but not spectacular, Houston Cougars team.
The carousel continued the following week with Salter, now lacking some confidence and comfort as the starter, getting the nod again against Wyoming. He responded with over 300 yards passing and three touchdowns in a 37-20 win.
Ranked BYU was yet another major test against a Big 12 conference foe, one that had beaten them the year before, and convincingly, in both teams’ final games of the season. The Buffs kept it close, showing again they had what it takes to compete with one of the best teams in the country, currently ranked 18th in the AP poll. They came up short, though, losing 24-21. Dropping to 2-3, the Buffs already had as many regular-season losses as the year before.
On Saturday, Oct. 5, they played their sixth game against a TCU team that was 3-1, with its only loss coming at the hands of 21st-ranked Arizona State by a field goal. The team played well in the first half, going into halftime tied 14-14, but ended up losing by a score of 35-21 because of poor second-half play. With their next game against ranked Iowa State, the Buffs are left with the question: Do they hand the reins over to Lewis and allow him to prepare for a better year next year, or do they try to salvage the season and win out in what will be a Big 12 full of parity?
With Coach Prime at a crossroads regarding his team’s future, he may also be at a crossroads of his own. After signing a five-year, $54 million contract in March, one would hope he stays, but after the TCU game, he mentioned possible new clots in his legs, an issue that has plagued him for years and led to multiple leg surgeries and foot amputations. So the question remains: Will he end his Colorado coaching career early due to health and team issues, or will he continue to push to improve next year and give them another shot at a Big 12 title?