Deion Sanders wants to coach at Colorado how long? He shared a number.
He said so on a video published Wednesday by his son Deion Jr. after being shown a swanky new locker-room lounge being developed for him on campus in Boulder.
His son was filming his dad’s positive reaction to it and told his dad that any head coach who comes after Sanders at Colorado will inherit a “lot of good stuff” someday because of amenities like this being developed now.
“They’re gonna have to wait about 10 years,” Deion Sanders Sr. said in response. “I got a good 10 in me. I’ve got a good 10 strong in me.”
“That’s good for me,” said Deion Jr., who chronicles the Colorado program on YouTube to boost the program’s brand and recruiting potential.
What is the significance of this?
It’s not clear when Sanders made these remarks. In the video, he’s on campus wearing a beard, which he shaved shortly before Colorado’s annual spring game April 27. Since then, he’s taken some time away from Colorado (without a beard) at his estate in Texas.
Even if he made these off-the-cuff remarks in April, it’s believed to be the first time “Coach Prime” has publicly put a specific length on his possible tenure there other than the five-year contract he agreed to in December 2022.
With almost any other coach, it wouldn’t be noteworthy for them to say they want to stay on a job for 10 or more years. But Sanders, 56, has been subject to ongoing speculation about his future there for a few main reasons. One is that his other sons, Shedeur and Shilo, will move on to the NFL after playing their final season for him in Boulder in 2024. His youngest daughter, Shelomi, also recently transferred from Colorado to Alabama A&M.
The mystery was how long Sanders would want to stay in a challenging job without his kids playing for him or around him anymore.
As an NFL player, he played with five different teams, never more than five years with any one. As a college head coach, he was hired at Jackson State in 2020 before leaving for Colorado in December 2022.
“Coach Prime Says He’ll be at CU for at least 10 Years,” says the headline to his son’s video.
Deion Sanders’ new lounge
Sanders Sr. was asked about his long-term plans after the spring game April 27 but didn’t hang a number on it.
“I lead my kids; I don’t follow my kids,” Sanders said then. “So I do not plan on following my kids to the NFL.”
The Pro Football Hall of Famer added that he has work to do in Colorado and loves it there. But his lack of ties to the state previously, along with his prior strong ties to Texas and the Southeast, still fueled questions about his future plans and whether he might be lured away to a more high-profile job with better pay.
After finishing 1-11 in 2022, Colorado became one of the most-watched teams in college football in his first season last year, when the Buffaloes finished 4-8. Sanders since has addressed weaknesses on his roster by adding a flurry of more transfer players.
His new lounge only adds to the attraction for him. It includes a nameplate with his signature on the door and an apparent bearskin rug on the floor.
“Where we gonna put all the stuff for the advertisers?” Sanders asked in the video. He said this was important for all of his sponsors so they can see their products in the lounge.
Colorado opens the season at home Aug. 29 against North Dakota State.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com