Deion Sanders isn’t your typical coach. He’s Coach Prime, that’s why he does what other coaches think is unconventional. His out-of-the-box recruiting strategy, for instance, earned him much criticism in the offseason. But he has good reasons to back up his actions. And this particular technique could be beneficial for former NFL HC Bill Belichick, whose North Carolina rumors are put to rest. 

Radio talk show host Zach Gelb posted an interesting recruitment path for Bill Belichick in a new X post on December 12. Uploading a report from USA Today of Deion Sanders’ recruiting strategy, he captioned, “Some are saying they can’t see Bill Belichick doing an in-home recruiting visit. This was Deion Sanders to USA Today, who hasn’t made a single recruiting visit since becoming the head coach of Colorado. Bill can easily use the @DeionSanders model if he wants.”

According to the report, “the University of Colorado confirmed Sanders hasn’t made any recruiting visits since his hiring.” Why? For the Buffs HC, the reason is simple. He wants them to get a taste of Boulder because it would be their ultimate home if they choose his program. For him, visiting a prospect’s home is “just blowing money.” He added, “I can’t do things other coaches can do. You know why? I’m Coach Prime.”

With his strategy, Deion Sanders was able to save $200,000 set aside as a recruitment budget. And he was able to haul in 55 new players for the 2024 season, 42 transfers and 13 high school commits. Colorado managed to make a big comeback under his second year by clinching a bowl appearance and finishing the season as an AP top 25 team. But for Bill Belichick, the real question is should he even be in college football?

Bill Belichick steps into CFB world

If anybody knows Belichick well, it’s Tom Brady and Julian Edelman who played for him during their stints with the New England Patriots. Both of them gave a resounding no on if their former HC moving to college football is a good idea. The 7X SB champion even impersonated Belichick saying, “Listen, you really wanna come here? We don’t really want you anyway. I mean, I guess you could come, we’ll figure out if you can play.” That’s not what 18-22 year olds would love to hear, is it? But now, it’s NFL gone college football! 

The rumors of Bill Belichick going to North Carolina was confirmed on Wednesday. The 6x Super Bowl champion agreed to a 5-year deal of $50 million, per The Athletic’s Brendan Marks. He said, “I am excited for the opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill. I grew up around college football with my Dad and treasured those moments. I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill.”

Almost five decades of NFL experience coaching professional players, the 72-year-old revealed that he would create a pipeline to the NFL if he was in college football. Can he mirror Deion Sanders’ CFB recruitment success with the same technique?