Deion Sanders has put his kickstand down in Boulder.
On Tuesday morning, Colorado’s head coach addressed a question in his weekly press conference about rumors and reports swirling that he could be in demand for any number of open head coaching vacancies in both college football and the NFL this offseason.
“I’m happy where I am, man,” Sanders said. “I’m good. I’ve got a kickstand down … It means I’m resting, I’m good, I’m happy, I’m enthusiastic about where I am. I love it here. Truly do.”
The No. 16 Buffaloes (8-2) are set to face Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Saturday afternoon. The Jayhawks are coming off back-to-back wins over ranked teams. Kansas beat Iowa State 45-36 at home on Nov. 9 and last Saturday handed BYU its first loss of the season in Provo, a 17-13 road win.
Under Sanders, Colorado has transformed from the worst program in college football’s power conferences two years ago to a contender that controls its own destiny for a spot in this year’s Big 12 championship game. The Buffaloes are led by Sanders’ son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and two-way superstar Travis Hunter, who is currently the odds-on favorite to win this year’s Heisman Trophy.
Speculation about Sanders’ immediate future has percolated in recent weeks due to the struggles of one of Sanders’ old teams, the Dallas Cowboys. Former teammate and Cowboys star Michael Irvin posted a veiled message on social media Tuesday morning after Dallas’ 34-10 home loss to the Houston Texans on “Monday Night Football”.
I spent Friday night with Jerry Jones. I spent Saturday with @DeionSanders. I spent Sunday with the lord PRAYING for ???? ????? (GUEST WHAT) Now after what the @dallascowboys look like on Monday Night Football. 😳😳😮😮🤷🏾🤷🏾I must work harder!!!!! pic.twitter.com/3l0mFHKIRv
— Michael Irvin (@michaelirvin88) November 19, 2024
Sanders on Tuesday was asked about the depth of his roster stepping up in the absence of starters due to various injuries. The Colorado head coach took that as a chance to hit back on the narrative that the Buffaloes were purposefully not planning on recruiting high school players.
“It says a lot about what we plan on being and the stability that we’re going to be here for a while,” he said. “We ain’t going nowhere. We’re about to get comfortable.”
Shedeur Sanders has already said he’ll head for the NFL after this year, and knowing it must replace likely the first quarterback taken in next April’s draft, Colorado is currently in the mix for five-star quarterback recruit Julian “JuJu” Lewis, who recently decommitted from USC.
Colorado athletic director Rick George was in attendance for Sanders’ Tuesday press conference. George, who hired Sanders in Dec. 2022, recently said on a podcast hosted by former Colorado offensive lineman Matt McChesney that Sanders wasn’t leaving Boulder anytime soon. He also said that he and Sanders have already begun preliminary discussions on a contract extension at various points throughout the season. Sanders signed a 5-year, $29.5 million contract when he was hired nearly two years ago.
“Deion’s not going anywhere,” George said last week. “The guy’s committed here. He’s just getting started.”
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
