Prime's Time

My daughter texted me in the early hours of the morning, saying, "feels like freshman year". She was referring to yet another drubbing suffered by Colorado's football team, who fell at home to Arizona by a 52-17 score that wasn't even that close. The Buffs have been outscored 105-24 over the past two weeks, and fell to 3-6 on the year.

Travis Hunter ain't walking through that door. So what happens next for a program that's great at hype and proving to be less so on the field.

It's no secret that head coach Deion Sanders has dealt with a number of health issues over the past several years. He had two toes amputated in 2021 due to issues related to blood clots while he was the head man at Jackson State. Then, at the start of this season, cancer led to surgery to remove and reconstruct his bladder. The 58 year-old still gets around reasonably well, and his carriage reminds one of a man once one the world's most athletic humans, but those kinds of traumatic interventions must take a toll.

Sanders' kids are no longer in Boulder, except for his namesake who runs the Buffs' social media program (and runs it well). That same kid, Deion Sanders Jr. echoed online fan sentiment last night, reposting a fan's message on X that said "absolutely embarrassing" and adding a one-word statement of his own: "very".

Coach Prime has unquestionably been a boon for Colorado's athletic department, the university's public image, and even the local economy. But after this season, the Buffs will have one winning year in three to show for all the buzz. Sanders is a brilliant marketer and brand-builder. He's brought some talented athletes to campus, and a coterie of big-name assistant coaches. As the evidence continues to mount, however, it's becoming clear that he's a mediocre in-game coach, and that's probably being kind - the Buffs routinely mangle clock management, rarely make impactful adjustments, and don't ever come from behind to win games.

So we're left with a proud man in physical decline who has admitted he doesn't like to recruit and increasingly looks like he's not up to the gameday demands of big-time football, but is clearly an asset that supports the university's broader aims. A modest proposal, then.

Make Coach Prime CEO Prime.

Colorado AD Rick George should create a new role for his rainmaker, letting him lead the program as chief executive while hiring a coach to manage the details in practice and during games. This would reduce Prime's physical workload, allow him to focus on the things he's best at, and give the Buffs a better chance to compete in the Big 12. 

The job would appeal to a certain type of young coach who wants someone else to deal with the public-facing responsibilities of the job so he can focus on football. Boise State's 37 year-old Spencer Danielson is 21-6 as a head coach, and says he's happy out of the limelight. He fits the profile, though.

George has shown a willingness to take big swings and call plays not in the standard AD manual. He's tied himself at the waist with Sanders, and he's got to see that the current situation is growing untenable. Plenty of people have disregarded G:TB's advice (looking at you, Democratic Party) to their detriment. Rick George would do well to heed it.