Confronting ongoing health problems and entertaining what-if scenarios, Deion Sanders reiterated a common stance Wednesday that he's shared in the past: Despite being a Pro Football Hall of Famer, Coach Prime has no interesting in being a pro football coach.
Colorado's first-year head coach told Bri Amaranthus, "I don't have any desire to coach in the NFL. ...
"I am cut a little different. I love (Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones). I tremendously love that whole family."
Sanders said neither an assistant coach nor head coach's role could lure him from the college ranks to the NFL, where he starred for the Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers. He also starred in Major League Baseball for the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds after his record-setting collegiate football and baseball careers at Florida State.
"I'm not an assistant coach," Sanders told the outlet. "That is not me. I am a head coach.
"I don't settle for mediocrity whatsoever. You are going to do it this way, we are going to work our butts off; we are going to be a team."
Sanders added, "The only thing that is individual about you is the way that you play."
After a record-setting run atop the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Jackson State program that included back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference titles, Sanders was hired last December to take over the floundering Colorado Buffaloes program.
While Sanders has been adamant that his Buffaloes will compete immediately and reiterated that failure isn't an option, he faces a Rocky Mountains uphill climb in Boulder. Colorado has led the nation in roster turnover since last fall, with more than 50 players departing this spring, and it opens its season with back-to-back high-profile games.
The Buffaloes start the Sanders era Sept. 2 at CFP runner-up TCU; they host former longtime rival Nebraska, led by first-year coach Matt Rhule, the following week.