During a recent presser Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders told reporters that he wouldn’t be answering any questions from Eric Christensen of CBS Sports Colorado. Once the reporter announced himself Deion immediately shut Christensen down.
Sanders is still sour about being ranked 15th among 16 coaches by CBS and he wouldn’t let Christensen get in a word.
“I’m not doing nothing with CBS,” Sanders insisted while waving Christensen off. “Next question. … It’s got nothing to do with you. It’s above that. I love you, appreciate and respect you. Ain’t got nothing to do with you. They know what they did,” Sanders explained.
Sanders continued: “I’m looking you in the eyes as a man. I got respect for you and love for you, but what they did was foul.”
.
Sanders Comes Out Swinging, Keeler Counters
That didn’t sit well with Sean Keeler, a Denver Post columnist who covers the Buffaloes daily. When Keeler asked Sanders about the rankings, Sanders didn’t waste any time taking shots at Keeler as well.
“You don’t like us man,” Sanders began. “Why do you do this to yourself. No, I’m serious. Why do you do this? Like you know you don’t. Like why do you do this?”
“It would be hard for me to really engage in someone I don’t like or something I don’t like. I’m just asking why? Like why? What did I do?” he added.
Keeler made sure to get his point across in a scathing article he wrote, where he accused Colorado of being desperate and that’s the only reason Sanders got hired:
“A 4-8 coach gave a 3-9 press conference. This was Deposition Deion, a cornered and condescending man, the perennial victim who ain’t got time for mere mortals.
He can’t hide the fact that CU, which hired him with the sheer and utter desperation of a lonely nerd on prom night, and conducted a lousy vetting process, hoping that a lifetime celebrity wouldn’t come with a lifetime of skeletons in his closet, too.
Half of the Power 5 schools and most of the NFL wouldn’t put with the Prime Circus. The cameras. The contracts. The rules. The Buffs? They had no choice. Deion is the king of CU, El Caudillo del BoCo, the Emperor of Engineering Drive. Are you with me or against me?
Once the train leaves the station, it doesn’t come with brakes. You ride the puppy out full-speed. Until things go off the rails.”
No Love Lost Between Sanders And Keeler
Keeler isn’t a big Coach Prime fan. This has been brewing since Sanders arrived in December 2022 to a ton of hoopla and fanfare. Starting 3-0 last season and then floundering to 1-8 in their last nine games didn’t help matters.
Things seemingly came to a head with Sanders being upset about his low ranking in the conference. In all honesty, that’s probably where he belongs until he proves he can win more than four games in a season.
Knowing Sanders, he will be putting all his energies into proving everyone wrong. Who knows why he would even lash out at CBS about some rankings that don’t amount to a hill of beans once the action gets going in the season.
He’s had a very emotional week with his birthday, the birth of his first grandchild and the pressure of a must-win season with Heisman Trophies supposedly at stake. Maybe he’s a bit defensive and on edge.
Deion Sanders Embraced Villian Role, Can’t Be Mad Now
To be honest, Sanders set himself up as the villain when he left Jackson State after two seasons and told everyone he was also bringing Louis Vuitton luggage in the form of generational players to lift Colorado back to the top of the football food chain.
So, when you go 4-8 in your first season some people are going to call you out on it.
Sanders will have a solid chance to prove doubters wrong with upgraded roster led by son Shedeur and two-way sensation Travis Hunter, as well as Deion’s other son Shilo, the president of the “headache gang.”
Winning cures a lot, but don’t expect it to fix this frosty relationship out in the scenic Rockies between Deion and a growing legion of reporters. And, knowing Sanders, he couldn’t care less.
