Deion Sanders, the head coach of Colorado, has put together a great staff of 10 coaches, including those who have developed 85 All-Americans and more than 350 conference all-stars. Despite being recruited by the Buffaloes on December 3, Sanders has been busy assembling his team. His budget for assistant coaches is $5 million, a significant increase over the amount given to former coach Karl Dorrell. After leaving Jackson State last weekend after his team’s 41-34 overtime loss to North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl, “Coach Prime” is starting again at Colorado. Sanders’ attempt for a new season was thwarted by it.
Getty images/Getty Images Entertainment/ Cindy Ord/Staff
Colorado revealed the new hires for Sanders’ staff on Tuesday night. Sean Lewis is the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, and Charles Kelly is the defensive coordinator/safeties coach. From Alabama, where he was the associate defensive coordinator, Kelly joins the Buffaloes. After five years as the head coach at Kent State, Lewis moves to Boulder and brings a high-scoring offense that scored 49.8 points on average in 2020. Nick Williams will be in charge of the defensive ends, while O’Boyle will coach the offensive line. Sanders also brought numerous Jackson State coaches, including Dennis Thurman, who will serve as the defense’s director of quality control. Also adding Tim Brewster, Brett Bartolone, Andre’ Hart, Kevin Mathis, and Gary Harrell, who will serve as the team’s associate head coach for running backs.
In his first move as Colorado’s head coach, Sanders was forthright in his intention to steer the squad in a different direction. Sanders announced Shedeur Sanders as the new team’s starting quarterback. Shedeur has been Jackson State’s starting quarterback for the previous two seasons. Sanders made it known that he was prepared to recruit several more players from his Jackson State team when he spoke with current Colorado players, claiming that the program was about to undergo a significant transition. The players who weren’t prepared for the new Coach Prime period were invited to bring their skills to the transfer portal, going so far as to do so.