Deion Sanders says he isn’t looking to leave Colorado amid industry speculation about what his future might look like.
Hours after CBS Sports’ report on Sanders’ future and with Michael Irvin speculating Sanders could follow son Shedeur to the Dallas Cowboys, Sanders told reporters he has a “kickstand” down at Colorado.
“I’m happy where I am, man,” Sanders said. “I’ve got a kickstand down. You know what a kickstand is? … That means I’m resting. I’m good, I’m happy, I’m excited. I’m enthusiastic about where I am. I love it here, truly do.”
What Sanders has done this season at Colorado is one of the sport’s best stories. A year after going 4-8, Sanders has Colorado at 8-2 competing for a Big 12 title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. His personnel changes have worked wonders, namely moving Pat Shurmur into the offensive coordinator role and hiring Robert Livingston away from the Cincinnati Bengals to be his defensive coordinator.
It hasn’t stopped speculation throughout the industry, though, that Sanders could be on the move once his son and two-way star Travis Hunter leave for the NFL. Irvin was the most recent to jump into the fray, saying Tuesday that Sanders would take the Cowboys job currently occupied by Mike McCarthy if the franchise drafted his quarterback son.
“I believe 100% [yes], and I can tell you, good sources have told me that,” Irvin said. “Great sources have told me that. That’s all I can say like that without violating anything else.”
Sanders, however, has already shot down the notion that he’ll follow Shedeur to an NFL team after this season. In CBS Sports’ most recent NFL mock drafts, Sanders was projected to go No. 2 overall to the New York Giants.
“I’m a leader of men, not a follower of men.” Sanders told FOX Sports this summer. “I’m a father, not a baby daddy. I lead my sons, I don’t follow my sons.”
Colorado has reiterated that stance on the recruiting trail. One NIL agent who represents players across the country told CBS Sports Colorado had begun kicking the tires on a few players — which is common at this point in the calendar — with the position Sanders is staying. Another NIL agent said Sanders “has picked up their recruiting pace tremendously since the season has started, and has multiple key flip targets.” The biggest target, 4-star quarterback Julian Lewis, recently decommitted from USC and is strongly considering joining Coach Prime in Boulder.
Sanders has had health concerns in the past, needing multiple surgeries and the amputation of two toes because of blood clots and blood circulation issues. Multiple sources who have observed Sanders during games say that he’s moving better on the sidelines and taking fewer rests. He’s had a chair on the sidelines in the past, but hasn’t needed one this season.
According to his contract with Colorado obtained by CBS Sports via open records request, Sanders owes no money to Colorado if he retires at any moment during the contract. However, if he comes out of retirement to take a coaching job in college or the pros before the end of the contract term which runs through 2027, he would owe CU buyout money.
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