Pressure Building on Colorado's Deion Sanders Entering Upcoming Season

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders is entering his fourth season as the coach in Boulder.

Sep 16, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the game against the Colorado State Rams at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders is entering his fourth season on the sidelines in Boulder. 

The Buffaloes have a record of 16-21 so far in the Coach Prime era. Is there pressure on Sanders heading into 2026?

Deion Sanders Listed on Heat Seat

Sep 30, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders walks off the field before the game against the USC Trojans at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Chet Strange-Imagn Images | Chet Strange-Imagn Images

“The Film Guy Network” recently dropped a video on their Youtube channel, highlighting coaches that are on the hot seat. They listed Sanders as being the ninth on that list. 

Deion Sanders was hired by Colorado following the Buffs’ disastrous 1-11 season in 2022. Prior to being hired, Sanders was the coach at Jackson State, leading the Tigers to an overall record of 27-6 during his tenure there from 2020-2022. 

Right after adding Coach Prime, Colorado became one of the most talked about programs in the country. In Sanders’ first game as Colorado coach, he led his team into Fort Worth, stunning the TCU Horned Frogs. TCU was coming off an appearance in the national championship game the season prior. 

Oct 4, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders on the field during warm ups prior to a game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

The Buffs won their next two games to improve their record to 3-0. In this span, they beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Colorado State Rams. They even hosted ESPN’s College GameDay in Boulder. Then, Colorado went on the road to play the Oregon Ducks.

Colorado got blown out by Oregon and this started a long streak of losing. The Buffs ended the season losing eight of their final nine games, finishing with a record of 4-8. While it was a disappointing end to the season, it was still clearly a step in the right direction for a program that had just won one game the year before. 

In 2024, Colorado had its best season in quite some time. The Buffs went 9-3 in the regular season, finishing in a four-way-tie a top the Big 12 standings. Due to tiebreakers, Colorado did not earn a spot in the Big 12 conference title game. They earned a berth in the Alamo Bowl, where they fell to the BYU Cougars. 

During the 2024 season, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter won the 2024 Heisman Trophy. Both were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Buffs were not able to replace these two and it showed in 2025. 

Oct 26, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders walks the sidelines in the second half against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Buffs had their worst season under Coach Prime in 2025, going 3-9 and missing a bowl game for the second time in three seasons. That now leads Colorado into the 2026 season, where they will try to turn things back around. 

If Colorado has another down year, that would make three out of four seasons that they would have failed to make a bowl game with Deion Sanders. That would give real reason for fans to question if the program is going in the right direction. 

Colorado’s 2026 season will kick of on the road on Thursday, Sept. 3 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech beat Colorado last season in Boulder. 

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