Shedeur Sanders Calls Out Critics of Deion Sanders's Heavy Involvement in His Life

Deion has coached Shedeur since high school.
Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders with son and quarterback Shedeur Sanders
Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders with son and quarterback Shedeur Sanders / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The growth and development of Shedeur Sanders's football career has been intertwined with his father's coaching career. As Shedeur rose from a high school football quarterback to a top-10 Heisman Trophy finalist for the Colorado Buffaloes, he had his father, Deion Sanders, with him every step of the way.

Deion served as Shedeur's primary coach and mentor for the majority of his time in high school and college football, but Shedeur will be without his father's coaching for the first time in years when he enters the NFL this spring.

Ahead of the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, Shedeur was in attendance at the East-West Shrine Bowl practices on Saturday. Sanders did not play, but met with multiple teams—including the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants. There, Shedeur addressed the notion that his Deion's involvement in his life is a negative.

"I didn't know your parents being involved and wanting the best for you is a problem," Shedeur told the media. "I think as parents, each and every one would want the best for their kids. The fact that he has the opportunity to do that for me and he has the best quarterback in the country, he's supposed to do that."

While addressing the media, Shedeur also shared a key lesson from Deion that helped give him and his siblings the mentality they hold. Though Deion has played a pivotal role in coaching Shedeur to the level he has reached, he knows he has to earn his own way.

"He made sure we understand, 'we have a nice house, but this is all my stuff. This isn't your stuff.' We inherited that mindset," Shedeur said. "In any situation, we're comfortable wherever we're at."


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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.