Deion “Prime Time” Sanders is not a household name. The reserved and introverted former NFL and MLB player has long avoided the spotlight, the media and shit-talking in general. This approach served him well during his first few phases of his life, allowing him quietly to find his way into the College Football Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame and to fat stacks of cash.
After retiring from baseball and then from football, as he played both concurrently for much of his career, he decided to start building some name recognition for what has become his next act — coaching. He started small, quietly serving as head coach for his own Prime Prep Academy, a collection of charter schools in Texas. From there, he went to Triple A Academy, a place so similar to Sanders in terms of its approach to publicity that it essentially doesn’t exist on the internet, as its head coach. After Triple A he took a step back, serving as the offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian High School, where his sons played. Again, the name of the game was to stay quiet while those around him enjoyed being the center of attention. It was a bold strategy, but it worked.
For in 2020, with his dues finally paid, Prime moved up to the college ranks, joining the Jackson State Tigers of Jackson, Mississippi. Again, he avoided the media and shit-talking in general. Under his leadership, the Tigers quietly put up an impressive 27-6 record, staying in the winning category for all three seasons, and went to the Celebration Bowl in both 2021 and 2022. With those games, though both resulted in losses, Coach Prime finally found his voice, one which he took to the Colorado Buffaloes.
Colorado is a storied program, one that used to feature lots of winning. Lately, though, the program has suffered a bit of a downturn. The Buffs haven’t had a winning record since 2020-2021 when the team went 4-2 during the truncated season. The last complete season with more wins than losses occurred in 2016, when the team went 10-4. Last year, they won one game and lost eleven. So far this season, they’ve doubled that number to two, winning both of their first two games. Will Prime finally find his way into the spotlight with the team?
The future is impossible to predict. While the Buffaloes are coming strong out of the gate, a feat normally reserved for horses and not large indigenous cows, the season is still early. Injuries could occur. The two victories thus far were achieved despite uneven play, and the competition only gets stiffer. The list of monster on-field players who have successfully transitioned to coaches is short.
Prime has bided his time, slowly building up his bona fides, though. His ties to Texas provide him with a recruiting pipeline. Since trading in the helmet for the clipboard, he’s done almost nothing except amass wins. The players and fans are united behind him. His staff is loaded with talent and experience. The odds appear to be in his favor.
If so, and if he continues to perform this season as he’s done throughout his career, more wins could follow, leading Prime to finally take his place in the spotlight and become the household name he’s long sought to avoid being.
