Four losses in a row, and the questions around Deion Sanders are only getting louder. Colorado had a bye week to regroup, yet Utah still escaped with a 27-24 win, leaving the Buffaloes searching for answers. Shannon Sharpe believes recruiting is a major reason behind the struggles, but Jason Whitlock disagrees.
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The feud between Deion Sanders and Jason Whitlock continues to spiral, with neither side appearing ready to back down. Now, Whitlock has turned up the heat on his show Fearless, delivering a brutal assessment of Sanders and suggesting that his pride is getting the better of him as a coach.
“Deion’s goal in coaching is to avoid embarrassing himself. Nothing more. He has no higher motivation than protecting his pride. In fact, he should drop the nickname Coach Prime and just call himself Coach Pride. Pride rules him,” said Whitlock, after reviewing Sanders’ post-loss ritual of consistently speaking positively about his players.
In Whitlock’s view, the issue is Sanders’ motivation as a coach: he argues that protecting his pride and avoiding embarrassment matter more to Sanders than anything else.
Whitlock then turned his attention to Sanders’ close friend Shannon Sharpe, who weighed in on the October 17 episode of Nightcap, arguing that Sanders must change the way he recruits because his star power alone is no longer enough.
Sharpe believes Sanders needs to take himself out of the equation and show recruits and their families that the process is about them, including by visiting their homes. Whitlock, however, begs to differ, arguing that Colorado already has enough talent but lacks stability in its leadership corps.
“That’s an excuse. That’s an excuse that exonerates Coach Pride and his coaching staff. It blames the players, not the culture or the coaches. Shannon Sharpe is arguing Deion’s next excuse. Deion’s going to hit the recruiting trail this offseason, as long as Colorado is willing to finance the bag, the big bag that he will carry with him to entice the next batch of Louis luggage,” said Whitlock.
Just like last season, Sanders went all-in on the transfer portal, bringing in approximately 43 players, including four-star transfers such as DeAndre Moore Jr., Boo Carter and Liona Lefau.
Yet, despite the influx of talent, the results have hardly reflected the ambition. The Buffaloes sit at 2-4 this season, and their quarterback situation remains a glaring concern, with Sanders still searching for a signal-caller capable of consistently igniting the offence.
This season, Colorado has already turned to Julian Lewis and Isaac Wilson at quarterback, exposing a clear lack of stability at the most important position on the field. Last year, the Buffaloes cycled through three quarterbacks, and the problem has persisted ever since Shedeur Sanders left the programme.
There’s certainly talent in the room, but is it being put to proper use? That’s the question the coaching staff needs to answer. The Buffaloes are averaging just 19.5 points per game, while ESPN’s Football Power Index projects the team to finish the season with a dismal 4.2-7.8 record, the worst forecast in the Big 12.
Adding to their woes, Colorado plunged five places to No. 86 in USA TODAY Sports’ national re-ranking of 138 FBS teams following its heartbreaking 27–24 loss to Utah. Now, the biggest question remains: Where does the problem lie, with the players or with Sanders?