The Deion Sanders era put Colorado football on the map. Three years on, that experiment isn’t quite getting its returns. A disappointing 2025 season has pushed back whatever success came to the program, with Sanders himself being labelled as the reason for the downfall. Colorado finished the last season at 9-3. This season, it was the exact opposite at 3-9. With the rebuild looming, should he consider a change in scenery?

“You already know that every once in a while, it’s not often that your first job is your last job because there’s a good chance you’re going to be like a Pentecostal minister,” Shannon Sharpe, a close friend of Coach Prime, said in a November 30 episode of Nightcap. “Every seven years you’re a– getting shipped somewhere else. Or if you’re in the military, you might start off at Fort Stewart or Hunter or, you know, Fort Carson or Fort Dig, Fort Bragg. You might start there, but you ain’t ending up there.

“When you a coach, you already know like, ‘Hey, baby, don’t unpack them bags. Don’t you unpack the bags,’” he added.

Deion took over a struggling Colorado and went 4-8 in his first season. However, on the backs of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, the Buffs almost made it to the Big 12 championship game last year. Their departure to the pros created a void in the offense, which Coach Prime has yet to fill. The QB position saw three starters this season, and even the run game was a major issue. Does Deion Sanders have the stomach to fix it?

I played this game, I know this game like the back of my hand. I love this game, I love football and all the ups and downs and ins and outs about it. I’m built for every last bit of it. But if anybody’s built to reconcile and to get this back on course, it’s me,” Coach Prime said after their Week 14 loss.

Interestingly, some highly attractive job opportunities may become available soon. One of them might be beneficial for Coach Prime and the program if he is tempted to start afresh.

Will Deion Sanders be interested in coming back home?

Coach Prime has repeatedly expressed his dedication to improving Colorado. And it’s already clear that CU is also happy keeping him on board for now. But will a chance to make a grand homecoming change things? Just today, Auburn announced the hiring of Alex Golesh for its vacant HC position. That means the USF Bulls are now without a head coach. Will Coach Prime be a good option for the Bulls?

“USF cannot promise unlimited resources, but it can give Sanders the one thing he has never stopped talking about,” Brian Schaible wrote for The Sporting News. “Florida. He loves coaching Florida players. He trusts Florida players. He recruits them every chance he gets. Of Colorado’s ten commitments for 2026, three are from Florida. Only one is from the state of Colorado. And the class sits in 98th overall on 247’s rankings. USF, without the noise, without the cameras, is currently 58th.”

Sanders even considered the South Florida job before picking Colorado. His official hiring is just a day before Alex Golesh’s at South Florida. Moreover, Golesh leaves the Bulls in a much better shape than the situation at Colorado. The rebuilding job at Boulder seems tougher.