Deion Sanders: 'I'm judged on a different scale'

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has had the spotlight on him long before he became the head coach of the Buffaloes last season. Regarded as one of the most decorated defensive backs in the history of football as a player at the college and NFL levels.

From his playing career to his coaching career that started at the high school level, progressed to HBCU Jackson State, and has now brought him to Boulder, the standard has always been elevated for Sanders. So when he was asked at Big 12 Media Days if expectations were higher for him than others, his answer was an easy one.

“Yes, yes,” Sanders repeated resoundingly. “I’m judged on a different scale. My wins are totally different than your wins.”

Sanders led Colorado to a 4-8 record last season after inheriting a program that was 1-11 in 2022. But for as much as Coach Prime wants to win at the highest level, he also knows that won’t be the only area he’s judged in as a head coach.

“You’re just judging in football, that’s why I have to start out and give you education, and academics, and so forth. I have to give you those things so you understand there’s a greater scope,” Sanders said.

“I can’t win nine games and our GPA suffers. Our GPA can’t be high, but we lose another eight games. We can not go and grab high school players and you got a bunch of guys out of the portal that’s getting incarcerated.”

Once again over 40 new players joined Colorado through the transfer portal this offseason, a massive roster overhaul that has experts all over the place when attempting to forecast what the Buffs’ win total will look like as they join the Big 12 Conference.

But regardless of how high or low the expectations placed on Colorado are, they will pale in comparison to what Sanders is expecting from the program that he’s already helped elevate off the field in an extraordinary way.

“My wins are different. We have to win in every area. That’s the way we’re judged, and I’m cool with that,” Sanders explained. “Because we come a little different, so the expectation is greater, but it’s not just football. It’s been like that all my life.

“I’ve always had a greater expectation for myself. So the expectation you have for me, would never outweigh the expectation I have for myself. Thank you. That’s a wonderful question.”