Five Realistic Candidates if Colorado Moves on From Deion Sanders

Colorado has made no coaching decision, but its expensive contract creates an intriguing question about its possible successors.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders has a buyout of more than $25 million, according to CBS Sports. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Colorado has not announced any plans to move on from coach Deion Sanders, and the contract potentially explains why. CBS Sports reported that the school is not positioned to pay a buyout of more than $25 million, even with Sanders at 3-12 over his last 15 games.

The same report floated the idea of a negotiated settlement and noted that first-year athletic director Fernando Lovo could be interested in a change. With that in mind, here are five realistic names if the Colorado Buffaloes ever turn the page.

Dec 26, 2025; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New Mexico Lobos head coach Jason Eck against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the Rate Bowl at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jason Eck knows the man making the call

No name fits the moment quite like Eck’s. Lovo hired him at New Mexico, and Eck delivered right away, going 9-4 in 2025, earning the program’s first bowl trip since 2016 and winning Mountain West Coach of the Year.

The Lobos are 6-1 this fall and sit on top of the Mountain West. Before that, Eck went 26-13 at Idaho with an FCS playoff trip in all three seasons, and he even worked in Boulder as a Colorado graduate assistant in 2002 and 2003.

Eck would bring a blue-collar identity to a team that has struggled to string together clean quarters. Watching his teams play complementary football week after week would be a welcome change at Folsom Field.

Dan Mullen would fix the quarterback room

Oct 17, 2026; Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA; UNLV Rebels head coach Dan Mullen gestures in the second quarter against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mullen has the deepest resume on this list. He coached nine seasons at Mississippi State, where he developed Dak Prescott and led the Bulldogs to their first AP No. 1 ranking in 2014, then coached Florida from 2018 through 2021.

His return to coaching has gone smoothly, too. UNLV went 10-4 in 2025, reached the Mountain West title game and earned Mullen the Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach Award, and the Rebels are 4-3 this season.

Colorado’s quarterback room has changed hands more than once this fall, and Mullen’s specialty is building passers who play with confidence. Stability under center would be the first thing he fixes.

Willie Fritz brings a Big 12 turnaround blueprint

Fritz has done the same job Colorado would need. Houston went 4-8 in his first season in 2024, then jumped to 10-3 in 2025 with a 6-3 Big 12 record and a 38-35 win over LSU in the Texas Bowl. The Cougars are 6-2 this fall.

Oct 17, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Willie Fritz reacts during the first quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

He also won the American Athletic Conference title at Tulane in 2022, and he has turned around programs at every level. To his credit, Fritz builds rosters that look tougher in November than they do in September.

Fittingly, Houston visits Folsom Field on Nov. 13, which would make for one awkward Friday night if this conversation gets louder.

Ryan Walters would bring it back home

Walters is the sentimental pick with real football credentials. He grew up in Aurora, played safety at Colorado and started his coaching career as a student assistant in Boulder.

His defenses at Missouri and Illinois earned him the Purdue job, though that stint ended at 5-19, which is the honest caveat. He is now Washington’s defensive coordinator for a 4-3 Huskies team.

A Colorado native would win in-state recruiting battles the program has too often lost, and his defensive background would give the Buffaloes a clear identity on that side of the ball.

Oct 16, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Former Purdue Boilermakers head coach and current Washington Huskies defensive coordinator Ryan Walters reacts to a call during the second half at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Gary Patterson is the Wild Card

In theory, Patterson has the steadiest resume on this list. He went 181-79 over 21 seasons at TCU, including 11 double-digit win seasons and a perfect 13-0 run in 2010, and he now serves as USC’s defensive coordinator.

At 66, Patterson would not be a 10-year plan. What he does bring, however, is a proven blueprint for building a Big 12 winner from the ground up, and a three-to-five-year rebuild with a defense-first culture might be what Boulder needs most.

If Colorado needed an interim option first, offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, who ran Sacramento State as head coach in 2025, would be an obvious in-house name. 

But until someone answers the $25 million question, every name on this list is a hypothetical. The only person who can make this list disappear is Sanders himself, and five games remain for him to prove otherwise.

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