Deion Sanders Adds Veteran NFL Coach to Colorado's Staff

Former NFL coach Mike Zimmer is headed to Colorado to join the coaching staff of Buffaloes first-year head coach Deion Sanders.

On Monday, Sanders confirmed the news in a video posted to Thee Pregame Show’s YouTube channel, saying that Zimmer “is coming too, by the way” as well as teasing the idea of others joining his staff. Sanders also emphasized Zimmer’s knowledge of the game and his ability to interact with young athletes.

“Forget the titles – they know this game and they know kids and they've been capable of making tremendous decisions with the kids and the young men in mind,” Sanders said in the video. “So that's what I adore the most – understanding how to establish the relationships with these young men.”

Zimmer joins Sanders’s staff at Colorado after previously helping the Pro Football Hall of Famer during his tenure as Jackson State’s football coach. Zimmer worked as an analyst ahead of the Tigers’ 2022 season. JSU finished 12–1 and 8–0 in the SWAC last season, recording its first undefeated regular season in program history, its second consecutive SWAC title and a second appearance in the Celebration Bowl.

Prior to JSU, Zimmer was Sanders’s defensive back coach during his tenure with the Cowboys from 1995 to ’99. The duo helped Dallas win Super Bowl XXX against the Steelers.

Zimmer last spent eight years as the Vikings’ head coach, where he recorded a 74-59-1 record and made the playoffs three times that includes a trip to the NFC championship game in 2017. Minnesota fired Zimmer at end of the ’21 campaign, following a second consecutive losing season.