Is Deion Sanders a Top-25 Coach In College Football?

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders cracked the top 25 in a recent ranking of college football coaches. Where did the Buffs' heralded shot caller end up, and why? Sanders made headlines on Friday, signing a new contract with Colorado.

Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffalos head coach Deion Sanders against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

When coach Deion Sanders arrived in Boulder, he stressed his want to bring the Colorado Buffaloes back to the promised land.

After an enticing yet shaky 4-8 campaign in 2023, "Coach Prime" stamped particular missions on each season, using one word to describe his goals.

Year one: "Hope," check. Year two: "Expectation," checked through a 9-4 record and contention for Big 12 Championship gold. So, what's in store for year three?

ESPN analyst and television personality Greg McElroy listed his top 25 coaches in the nation on the Always College Football podcast this past week, where Sanders came in at No. 22. He ranked just behind BYU Cougars coach Kalani Sitake and just above Indiana Hoosiers shot caller Curt Cignetti.

CU football coach Deion Sanders | Cris Tiller / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sanders ranks among coaches who orchestrated major program turnarounds this past season. Cignetti, SMU Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee (No. 24) and Kenny Dillingham of the Arizona State Sun Devils (No. 25) defied preseason odds to reach the College Football Playoff in 2024.

Despite the excellent job Sanders has done in two years with the Buffs, McElroy's criteria may explain why coaches like Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz (No. 15), Illinois's Brett Bielema (No. 16) and Kansas's Lance Leipold (No. 17) placed higher. Longevity and trajectory were at the forefront of qualities taken into account for the rankings.

"He is a coach that has a ridiculously high ceiling because of his ability to attract talent, because of his ability to get the guys to play insanely hard and because of the conference that he's in," McElroy said. "But it will be fascinating to see what happens this year. . . . A lot of coaches can win games with the best quarterback in the country, arguably, a lot of coaches can win games with the best player in the country ... So with those two guys gone, was it more about those two individuals and their elite level skill, or was it more about the other 20 starters on the roster offensively and defensively?"

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Despite his hesitancies regarding the departures of quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, McElroy commended Sanders for successfully addressing several of Colorado's weak points from 2023. The Buffs' offensive line allowed 13 fewer sacks, while the defensive front led the Big 12 and had its highest sack total as a program since 1995.

"There are plenty of people that will point to the shortcomings of the Colorado program from 2023, and that is the conclusion that they've jumped to about what Colorado's going to be, and they refuse to acknowledge the progress that was made last year," McElroy said. "They were much better along both lines of scrimmage."

Oct 12, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders yells to his players during the second half against the Kansas State Wildcats at Folsom Field. | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Ultimately, where Sanders fell short in the rankings was longevity as a coach at a Power Four level. While Shedeur and Hunter's absences were also taken into account, McElroy believes in Sanders's intuition to remain a top-25 coach for years to come. The upcoming season, however, bears much to prove.

"This year, we'll find out about the health of the program," McElroy said. "What does the foundation of the program look like? Because we know they have stars, and we know they have guys that will play in the NFL, but foundationally, can the team win without super premier players ... But I love the trajectory that Coach Prime is on at Colorado, and if I had to buy somebody right now as far as their stock is concerned in the future, Coach Prime would be at or near the top of my list of guys I would want to invest in."