Cam Newton respects Deion Sanders. But he also believes Coach Prime is sitting in the wrong chair at Colorado. After watching the Buffaloes slouch to 3–9 in 2025, Newton says the bigger red flag is not the scoreboard, but Sanders’ role.

“Everybody knows how much I love me some Prime, but we have to say it how it needs to be said,” Cam Newton said on his 4th&1 Podcast. “I don’t think Deion Sanders is in the best situation as a head coach. I think Deion Sanders would be a perfect GM in this climate of NIL.”

Newton pointed to the three uneven years in Boulder. The Buffaloes have won less than half of their games, 16 of 37, under Deion Sanders, with a 9–4 high point built around Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. When both stars moved to the NFL, the roster thinned, and the results slipped to 3–9. Nevertheless, Newton credited Sanders for changing how people see Colorado football, and doesn’t believe the head-coach chair uses Prime’s strongest skills.

In his eyes, Deion Sanders’ real gift is building relationships, handling big personalities, and getting players to buy in. That’s why he thinks Prime would be a natural fit leading a program from a football GM role instead.

“From what I see, this is my honest opinion… I would love to see Prime take a step back from head coaching and oversee a program,” he added. “A GM specific to football.”

Deion Sanders upped a program that went 1-11 to 4-8 in his debut year in 2023. Then he led Colorado to a 9-4 season in his second year, thanks to Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders leading the way. Most people thought that’s the new Buffs’ identity, a rising power, but it fell apart once the two stars left for the NFL. And it showed up in their 3-9 record last season. Unfortunately, there’s another red flag that worries Cam Newton even more than the win-loss record.

“The thing that nobody’s talking about though, is he has a revolving door in the staff meeting or in his staff,” he said. “When you have a departure of coaches, if I’m a recruit and I’m seeing the inability for stability in the coaching staff, that’s a red flag in itself.”

Following the 2025 season, Colorado also lost several prominent assistants. DC Robert Livingston returned to the NFL with the Denver Broncos. DL coach Domata Peko accepted a job with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pat Shurmur was not retained after serving as OC, while Warren Sapp and Marshall Faulk also moved on.

Deion Sanders responded by bringing in Brennan Marion as OC and Chris Marve as DC, and reshaped the recruiting department. The recruiting buzz has cooled off, though. Colorado’s 2026 class currently sits at No. 67 nationally and 15th in the Big 12, according to 247Sports. That’s a sharp drop after bringing in 5-star QB Julian Lewis just a year earlier.

Cam Newton thinks there’s a reason for that. In his view, recruits aren’t only chasing flashy facilities or NIL money. They’re also paying attention to whether a program feels stable from the top down, and Colorado hasn’t offered much of it lately. But he isn’t saying that Deion Sanders has failed. His concern is different. 

The former NFL MVP sees a leader whose biggest gift is inspiring people, building relationships, and setting a vision. He simply isn’t convinced those strengths are being maximized while juggling every responsibility that comes with being a modern head coach. But whether Deion Sanders would ever consider stepping aside is a mystery.