ATLANTA – Deion Sanders is used to being unique, so it’s no wonder he’s doing what isn’t typically done by college football coaches.
On Dec. 4, Sanders was named the new head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, but on Saturday he’ll coach one last time for Jackson State.
The Tigers (12-0) take on North Carolina Central (9-2) in the Celebration Bowl at Mercedes Benz Stadium and it was really never a doubt in Sanders’ mind about coaching in this game.
Usually when coaches of bowl teams leave one job for another, they cut ties immediately while an interim coach takes over. Not Sanders.
“This is a different circumstance,” Sanders said during the Celebration Bowl press conference on Friday. “Most of the coaches do what? They take the bag, they run, they don’t have a kiss goodbye.
“I’m thankful for our (athletic director) at Colorado and our AD here that they’ve allowed me to finish what we start. We always talk about finishing and then sometimes we have the audacity as adults to leave prematurely. I wanted to finish and my kids wanted me to finish.”
Sanders said CU athletic director Rick George never raised a concern about Sanders coaching the Celebration Bowl.
“It wasn’t even a conversation,” Sanders said. “I think they knew how I felt. They knew my heart and they knew you’ve got to finish. I think they admire finishing what you started. It’s very admirable. And Rick never even brought it up to me. … I can’t tell a child to finish what he started and I’m not.”
Since being hired by CU nearly two weeks ago, Sanders had split his time between Boulder and Jackson, Miss., before traveling to Atlanta with the Tigers on Wednesday. Sanders’ active social media team has documented much of his time with both teams.
A Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback, Sanders played in the NFL and Major League Baseball at the same time years ago. Leading two college football programs at once is different, but Sanders has managed to get through it.
“I keep the main thing, the main thing,” he said.
There are two main things right now, but Sanders said he’s able to shift gears between CU and JSU.
“Wherever my feet are, that’s where I am,” he said. “That’s why you compile a wonderful staff. … I have a wonderful staff that’s doing the necessary things that makes sure we’re dominant on signing day (for Colorado). I have a wonderful staff that makes sure we’re doing the necessary things that we’re dominant tomorrow and today (with Jackson State).
“I know it may not be comfortable to see a guy in Colorado apparel and then see him in Jackson State apparel, but it is what it is. This is something that we’ve got to cross and our kids are very keen and very smart. If you know how much we pour into them before we even make it to the field, you would understand how we are.”
After Saturday’s game, Sanders will fly to Boulder for a big recruiting weekend.
“Half our staff is flying with me, the other half is flying back (to Jackson),” he said. “We’ve got to dominate this weekend. We’ve got to get all these commits.”
Following Friday’s practice, Sanders told BuffZone that the past two weeks have been “extremely busy, but productive. We don’t want to just be busy. A lot of folks in life are busy but not productive. So we try to make sure we’re productively busy.”
To stay busy at CU, Sanders has relied on the staff he has in place in Boulder.
“We’re recruiting our butts off as I speak, right now,” he said.
With Wednesday’s national signing day quickly approaching, Sanders isn’t leaving it all up to his staff, though.
“I’m also a heck of a closer, man. A heck of a closer,” he told BuffZone. “All they’ve got to do is put me in front of the kid, by Zoom or whatever, and we’re gonna get it done.”
At the same time, Sanders is looking to get it done with Jackson State, which lost the Celebration Bowl a year ago. And, he believes that finishing the job with JSU will help him kick-start his CU tenure.
“While I’m here (at JSU), I would be wrong for these kids not to focus on them and make sure we finish,” Sanders said. “I think it’s much more admirable for an adult to tell a child to finish what he started and we’re going to finish what we started in dominant fashion. That’s gonna send volumes to even the recruits that we’re recruiting (to CU) right now.”
Earlier this week, Jackson State promoted receivers coach TC Taylor as Sanders’ replacement. Sanders made it clear, however, that the Tigers are still his team for another day.
“TC is elevated to be the head coach of next season,” he said. “Should I drop the mic on that? I’m still here, partner.”
