Deion Sanders says Buffs constantly evaluate their coaching setup

Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes need a spark. They’re 3-5, just suffered one of the most embarrassing losses in program history and are on the outside of the postseason looking in with just four games remaining on the schedule. The offense is stagnant, the defense can’t stop any competent opponent on the ground and the special teams put up its worst performance of the season on Sunday.

Where is that spark going to come from? Is it a new quarterback? Is it new coaching? Sanders was asked how if he’s evaluated his staff any differently after this big loss and if he’s thought about making some changes at his weekly media availability on Tuesday.

QUESTION: “After a loss like that, have you given any thought to changing responsibilities to better suit the team at this point?”

SANDERS: “We do that from game to game anyway. It’s not it’s not something that we don’t do. We just don’t tell you all the time that we do it. We do that anyway. So, we’re always looking to improve in every area of getting the guys prepared. Not only that, what’s being called from play to play, situation to situation. You probably don’t notice, but we have a Run Game [and a] Pass Game Coordinator on both sides of the ball, so that’s being challenged all the time. And I challenge these guys all the time and I challenge myself all the time to get it right. We just got to get it right.”

Sanders made a difficult coaching change around this same spot in the 2023 season when he relieved then-Offensive Coordinator Sean Lewis of his play calling duties and subsequently gave them to Pat Shurmur, the current OC who is struggling to even get a play call to his quarterback.

It’s no secret that change is needed. Out of 134 teams, Colorado ranks 107th in total offense, with 333.6 yards per game. There have been flashes of creativity against lowly opponents, but in high stakes situations, the offense has been stagnant, basic and uninspiring. Remember, the Buffs had -18 yards in the first half on Saturday. That’s so bad that it’s almost impressive that they put that number up.

For those who are calling for a QB change, it likely won’t happen until the West Virginia game at the earliest in order to preserve Julian Lewis’ redshirt. If a player appears in more than four games in a season, they cannot use a redshirt. Kaidon Salter has been uninspiring and has largely underachieved through the first two-thirds of the season, but the path for playing Juju isn’t there this week.

Sanders reiterated that his Buffs as a whole are underachieving, not just his quarterback, a point he’s made multiple times this season.

“We’re not achieving what we’re capable of achieving at this point,” Sanders said.

In order to start to achieve like how the donors who put hundreds of thousands of dollars into this program expected, something has got to give, and it starts with the assistants on the Buffs’ staff. There is too much talent in this locker room for the Buffs to be losing 43-0 at halftime against an opponent that they had two weeks to prepare for.

It’s clear that change isn’t happening this week. Would it happen next week if the Buffs were to lose? Or would it wait until the offseason? As long as it happens by the start of preseason camp next year, that’s the important thing, as Sanders can’t afford to have three losing seasons in his first four years at Colorado’s head coach.

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