Continuing his barnstorming tour as the new head football coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders joined the ESPN “ManningCast” Monday night to chop it up with college and NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning, as well as offer his analysis on the Dallas Cowboys-Tampa Bay Bucs NFC Wild-Card contest.
In typical Coach Prime delivery, the College and Pro Football Hall of Famer candidly evaluated the first half with the brothers Manning while Sanders also highlighted his Buffaloes staff and spent a few moments breaking down his own halftime speech from this past 2022 season at Jackson State, during which the Tigers cruised to an 12-0 start before a loss in the Celebration Bowl.
“Well, getting a great staff,” Sanders told the Mannings as a key for his success. “First and foremost, getting a great staff that’s unbelievable and can come up strong where I come up short.
“We have to be smart, tough, fast and disciplined with character.”
And as for that halftime speech during a JSU game, as revealed on the Amazon documentary “Coach Prime,” Sanders made sure to let the Mannings know that his fiery midgame tirade came, naturally, when the Tigers were well ahead of the competition.
“We’re trying to make history,” Sanders bellowed, “and y’all think it’s a game. Ain’t no dern game to me. This is real. Go earn it.”
Context? The Tigers just weren’t dominating, which Coach Prime established was his sole goal for Jackson State.
“I think we were actually up by 20 at halftime at that point,” Sanders said, “but we weren’t as dominant as we were supposed to be. Music at halftime [playing in the locker room]. I don’t wanna hear that mess. Let’s lock in and focus. I’m old school.”
Added Peyton Manning of Coach Prime’s ‘Old School’ approach, “We need that, we need that.”
Sanders early in the game also provided his insight on how he would devise a game plan to thwart Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady, the NFL record-holder for most Super Bowl wins.
“You gotta flush him out,” Sanders said of Brady. “First of all, bring pressure up the middle and try to get him to move and get of that dern spot.
“I used to say that about the dern Peyton Manning, but those guys were so smart, you were so smart.”
Like the rest of America who tuned into the game, which saw the Cowboys flat-out dominate the host and NFC South champion Bucs through three quarters, Sanders couldn’t believe the special teams futility on display by Dallas.
Specifically, Brett Maher’s inability to convert a single extra point well into the second half. The Cowboys led 24-0 – and not 28-0 because Maher shanked each of his four extra-point attempts.
“How do you miss an extra point?,” Sanders asked, then answered. “That’s the only job you got right now.
“How do you do that?”