Back in March, word began to circulate that Deion Sanders was adding former NFL coordinator Byron Leftwich to his Colorado coaching staff.
At Big 12 media days this week, Coach Prime stated while adding Leftwich has been the plan, the veteran NFL play caller has not yet agreed to join a Buffs program already loaded with over 150 years of NFL coaching experience.
Leftwich, a former top 10 pick by the Jaguars in the 2003 NFL Draft after a standout career at Marshall, went from coaching intern with the Cardinals in 2016 to quarterbacks coach for the team just a year later. When Bruce Arians took the Tampa Bay Bucs head coaching job in 2019, Leftwich followed as offensive coordinator, and spent four seasons with the franchise while landing a number of head coach interview opportunities during that time.
The addition of Leftwich would be a significant add for Prime at Colorado, but he's just one of two potential adds that Prime is trying to land with extensive NFL ties.
Mike Zimmer, the former head coach of the Vikings from 2014 to 2021, is the other veteran NFL presence Prime is holding out hope to add to the staff in Boulder before the start of the 2025 season.
Zimmer has reportedly been planning on retiring from a long coaching career that has included defensive coordinator stints with the Cowboys Falcons, Bengals, and most recently with a second stint in Dallas with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys last season.
Already familiar with Prime after serving as a consultant for his programs at Jackson State in 2022 and Colorado in 2023, Sanders is hopeful Zimmer makes a decision to help again at Colorado this fall.
Sanders currently has a staff loaded with NFL experience, highlighted by Pat Shurmur at offensive coordinator, and all told, they have 160 years of NFL experience on the staff. The additions of Zimmer and Leftwich would push them well past 200 years of combined NFL experience, which is an impressive talking point when it comes to recruiting both high school kids and the portal.
“Our coaching staff, this is without Byron Leftwich, which I’m praying that he does the right thing, and Mike Zimmer, we have 160 years of NFL experiences," Sanders boasted at media days.
"With those two added, that’s 204 years of NFL experience...and I want those years,” he added.
The additions of Zimmer and Leftwich would join forces with Sanders and Shurmur as well as Pro Football Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk (RBs) and Warren Sapp (pass rush coordinator) as just a few of the most notable.