Deion Sanders isn’t sugarcoating anything heading into Year 4 with the Colorado Buffaloes. After a brutal 2025 season that left fans wanting answers, Coach Prime is drawing a line in the sand. In the season premiere of Coach Prime’s Playbook on CBS Sports, he sat down with host Romi Bean to break down exactly what went wrong behind the scenes and why he had to pull off one of the most ruthless roster overhauls in Colorado’s recent history.
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“Well, I love the game, but I love these kids, and uh, I feel like we owe this fanbase our best. Uh, we let them down tremendously a year ago,” Deion Sanders said during his interview with Emmy Award-winning journalist Romi Bean. “But this year, we got rid of a lot that, that, uh, didn’t need to be here, that didn’t appreciate, you know, what CU football is about.”
For Prime, “not appreciating” the program came down to mindset. In today’s college football, many players jump into the transfer portal purely chasing high NIL paychecks. Sanders decided to change the culture by intentionally scouting players from lower-tier schools.
Alongside staff, Sanders spent hours watching tape to handpick talent based on character and grit. He wanted guys who genuinely love the game of football, not just players looking for a quick payday.
After finishing near the bottom of the conference (3–9), Prime felt the locker room had lost its respect for the program, and the only way to bounce back was to clear out anyone who wasn’t fully bought into the vision.
The Buffs cut more than 30 scholarship players this offseason. On defense, Coach Prime essentially wiped the slate clean by removing starters and heavy-rotation guys like safeties Tawfiq Byard and TJ Branch, cornerback DJ McKinney, and linebackers Jaylen Wester and Mantrez Walker.
He didn’t spare the trenches either. Defensive tackles Tafi Thomas and Christian Hudson, alongside edge rushers London Merritt and Alexander McPherson, were let go.
Even on offense, former starting left tackle Jordan Seaton, former four-star athlete Kam Mikell, and wide receiver Drayon Miller were all shown the door or didn’t stop from transferring elsewhere.
By replacing these departures with 66 hungry new portal transfers, Coach Prime aggressively gambled on building a tightly-knit locker room from scratch. Sanders labeled the mass exodus as standard “spring cleaning.” In fact, the defense has been so aggressively overhauled that only three holdover players remain from last year’s squad.
Not only the players but also Coach Prime gutted his leadership structure. Pat Shurmur, the offensive coordinator, departed after the stagnant 2025 offense. Defensive coordinator Robert Livingston left for the Denver Broncos. Other assistants, including Hall of Famer Warren Sapp, defensive line coach Domata Peko, and wide receivers coach Jason Phillips, were all phased out or departed the program late in the cycle.
Colorado decided to take a leap of faith by bringing in Brennan Marion and his “Go-Go” offense. On the other side of the ball, former Virginia Tech leader Chris Marve was brought in to take over the DC gig.
This unprecedented shift seems to be working wonders for the team’s energy. According to team captain Ben Finneseth, in all his six years of college football, this is easily the closest, most bonded locker room he has ever witnessed.
“I love our new team. This is the most enjoyable team I’ve ever been around. The brotherhood that we’ve built is absolutely unbelievable,” Finnseth stated on TMR Live.
The safety credited a phone-free, air-conditioner-free summer camp trip to Colorado Springs for forcing the guys to actually talk, bond, and build a genuine brotherhood.
“I’m thankful that every young man that we’re dressing out in the uniform and is on this team loves it. They want to be here, they desire to be here, and they understand what being a Buff is all about,” Sanders told Romi Bean.
When asked about opening up against a tough Georgia Tech team that beat them last year, Sanders smiled and said they “want the smoke” and are actively looking for the heat.
Although national media outlets and sportsbooks are counting the Buffs out, even ranking them dead last in the Big 12 win projections, the internal expectations haven’t budged an inch. Deion Sanders promised, “2026 is gonna be a movie, and everybody’s buying tickets whether they like it or not.”
Ultimately, Coach Prime is shutting the door on the past. He made it clear that he isn’t looking behind him or worrying about unfinished business because that chapter is officially closed.
With a locker room full of players who actually want to wear the uniform, Colorado is heading into Thursday night ready to prove that their ruthless offseason decisions were exactly what the program needed to finally turn a corner.