Deion Sanders and Colorado are not having the best of times. The Buffs are 3-6 (1-5 in conference play). Unlike last year, their chances of making it to the bowl game are extremely slim. With the program in dire straits, the naysayers are out in the open again, and their target is, of course, the head coach. Once again, it’s the same old ‘nepotism’ criticism. This time, though, it’s coming from a former Buff.

The former Colorado OL, Matt McChesney, spoke to Jason Whitlock on November 5 and addressed what’s going wrong at Colorado. Per McChesney, the problem starts at the top, especially with the people that Coach Prime has surrounded himself with.  

“I don’t see how we can look at the staff and say that they’re helping Coach Prime. And I don’t think Coach Prime is helping them necessarily. I think that when you put yourself in a situation where you’re surrounded by your friends, when it gets hard, are you going to fire them? And I don’t think that’s going to happen,” McChesney said.

For instance, coaches like Warren Sapp and Marshall Faulk have had long-standing friendships with Coach Prime. It’s not uncommon for head coaches to hire people they’re comfortable working with. However, when things go wrong, as McChesney highlights, can you fire your friends? Deion Sanders hasn’t done so yet.

But more than that, another issue that Colorado is facing is on the recruiting front. McChesney mentioned one particular player to highlight how the Buffs are not taking advantage of their in-state pool.

“Jackson Roper is the number one player in the state of Colorado who’s a four-star 6-foot-6, 310-pounder.” McChesney said, “His dad played at Utah State back in the day. Great student. Has like 20 offers. Alabama, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Michigan. You know who didn’t offer him? CU. They haven’t offered him. They don’t talk to him.”

And that’s just one example of many where Colorado hasn’t even looked at what it has in its vicinity. In Roper’s case, the program failed to take action despite McChesney’s best efforts.

“He’s one of my guys. I probably sent information on him 150 times. How do we get up there in front of you? How do we make this happen? What do we need to do? Nothing. Crickets.”

How does this change? Well, the former Colorado guard isn’t too hopeful, but fans can help.

“So, the community, the fan base, and the pressure there is what’s going to change things, if it does ever change, but I don’t know. Usually, when nepotism and narcissism are involved at this level, it’s really, really hard to get anybody to change doing anything.”

Nepotism allegations are not new for Deion Sanders

It’s not the first time that the word “nepotism” has been linked to Coach Prime. During the period when Shedeur and Shilo played under him, we heard the same critique. Shedeur, in a way, smashed it with his performance. However, Shilo kept coming under the scanner. 

Even Jason Whitlock in 2023 mentioned that Deion Sanders is exploiting the system and normalizing behavior that is not good for the long-term health of college football, doing a disservice to the young people involved in the sport. 

Although Deion brushed off the criticism at times, the accusation became a never-ending topic. Earlier this year, the accusation popped out when Colorado announced the decision to retire Shedeur’s jersey number, just four months after he finished his college career.

People started raising questions about why championship-winning signal-caller Darian Hagan’s jersey number hadn’t been retired yet, while Shedeur’s number had been retired, despite having a career record of 13-12. 

The only way Coach Prime can shut down this criticism is by winning on the field, and it can start this week against West Virginia.