Where Deion Sanders Ranks on College Football Coach Tier List

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders has gone through ups and down in his first three seasons at the helm in Boulder.

Oct 11, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the game against the Iowa State Cyclones at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders is heading into his fourth season as coach in Boulder. 

Where does Coach Prime land on The Athletic’s 2026 college football coaching tiers?

Deion Sanders in Fifth Tier of College Football Coaches 

Apr 11, 2026; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during the spring game at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Deion Sanders is in the fifth tier of college football coaches for 2026 season. This tier is titled “Up and down.” That perfectly describes how the Coach Prime era has gone at Colorado. Since Sanders was hired as head coach, Colorado has an overall record of 16-21 spanning from 2023-2025. 

The Buffs went 4-8 in 2023, 9-4 in 2024, and 3-9 in 2025. 

Some other notable coaches in this tier with Sanders are Florida State Seminoles coach Mike Norvell, Syracuse Orange coach Fran Brown, and Boston College Eagles coach Bill O’Brien. 

Top of the Tiers List

Head Coach Curt Cignetti during Indiana University's football camp practice on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Athletic has two coaches in their first tier called “The standard.” They are Indiana Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti and Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart. This doesn't come as a surprise.

Cignetti in just his second year as Indiana coach in 2025 led the Hooisers to a national championship victory. Historically, Indiana has been one of the worst power conference football teams. Cignetti changed that right as he got there. In his first two seasons, he has an overall record of 27-2. Right now, the defending champ should be considered the best coach in the country for turning Indiana into a powerhouse.

The other coach in this tier is Georgia's Kirby Smart. Smart has been the head coach of Georgia since 2016. The Bulldogs have an overall record of 117-21 in this time. This includes back-to-back national championship victories in 2021 and 2022. Georgia has also won the SEC the past two seasons, but has been eliminated in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal in both of these seasons.

Nov 1, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the game against the Arizona Wildcats at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The College Football Playoff is a place where Colorado has not been before. The closest they came was in 2024. In that season, Colorado went 9-3 in the regular season and were tied for a spot in the Big 12 conference championship game. Due to the tiebreakers, they did not get a spot in the Big 12 title game. The winner of that game ended up earning a spot in the first ever 12 team playoff.

Looking ahead to 2026, Colorado is a long shot to make the playoff. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Buffs have odds of +9000 to make the playoff. Furthermore, the oddsmakers don't like Colorado's chances to even make it to a bowl game.

Colorado has a win total that is currently set at 4.5, with odds of +134 on the over and -160 on the under. Will Deion Sanders get his team into a bowl and possibly threaten for a spot in the Big 12 title game?

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