Deion Sanders unpacks mindset on coaching future throughout cancer treatment

Deion Sanders held a press conference on Monday, where he revealed battled bladder cancer earlier this year. The Colorado head coach has been cured of the cancer after surgery, and will be ready to rock in 2025.

There’s some grim thoughts that enter a person’s mind when the word cancer is thrown around. While speaking with the media, Sanders took some time to unpack his mindset regarding his coaching future amid treatment, and whether he ever considered stepping away from the sidelines.

“I always knew I was going to coach again,” Sanders proclaimed. “I was always going to coach. It was never in my spirit, in my heart, that God wouldn’t allow me to coach again. I never thought like that. I just didn’t want to be running down to the hospital once a week when I had all this on my plate. I didn’t want that.

“I was even like, ‘Can they bring on the machines and put them in office?’ You know, I was serious. Doc would look at me like, ‘He is crazy. Is he like this when he coaches?’ But we worked it out. We worked it out.”

It’s tremendous news that Sanders never even considered taking a break from coaching. He’s entering his third season at the helm of the Buffaloes. After posting a 4-8 record in his debut campaign at Colorado, Sanders led the team to an outstanding 9-4 season in 2024.

Additionally, Colorado posted a 7-2 record in its first season against Big 12 competition and nearly reached the conference championship game. With the team’s top stars over the past couple of seasons in Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders moving onto the NFL this offseason, Sanders will have to find new ways to win this fall. Alas, he’s excited for the challenge.

“They were great players. We have a better team,” Sanders said at Big 12 Media Days. “There’s a difference between great players and a great team. We have a better team, but we can never replace those type of players.”

There’s perhaps no one more equipped to handle such a full plate. Even as Sanders fought cancer and dealt with a myriad of other issues, his focus has remained on the football field, because that’s just who he is.

Time will tell how Colorado is in 2025, but Deion Sanders will have them ready to play. He continues to inspire and break the mold in the sport of college football, and we’ll see what he has in store for Year 3.