Deion Sanders on If He'll Ever Leave Colorado: 'I Don't Look for Stepping Stones'
Given Colorado's impressive 3-1 start this season and the buzz that head coach Deion Sanders has generated, there is plenty of speculation aboutwhether he will eventually jump ship.
But Sanders told Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today that he doesn't see Colorado as a jumping-off point for a bigger potential job:
"I don't look for stepping stones. I'm not like that. I never wanted to leave Atlanta (in the NFL). The Falcons made me a free agent. I never wanted to leave for San Francisco (in the NFL). They made me a free agent. I never said, 'I'm out.' Never, in nothing I've ever done pretty much."
"It's always been like encouragement that's pushed me out or something that's done that don't allow me to stay. But trust me, I've never... I'm not built like that. No, I take that back, probably the marriages I said, 'I'm out. I'm out. I can't do this no more.' I did that. I got divorced, so I take that back."
It's fair to point out that Sanders also left Jackson State for Colorado, a bigger opportunity with more financial backing and infrastructure. He's said in the past that he didn't make the move for his own personal financial reasons, though he undoubtedly got a bump in salary when he made the move to Boulder.
So, if a bigger program than Colorado with even more resources, a bigger recruiting network and more prestige came calling, it wouldn't be shocking if Sanders was intrigued, even if he doesn't currently view the Buffaloes as a "stepping stone."
Of course, if Colorado can continue to provide him with the resources he needs to build a perennial contender, it's possible he could finish his coaching career there. Time will tell.
But he's certainly off to a good start.
While the Buffs were waxed against No. 9 Oregon this past week—a 42-6 loss that dropped them out of the Associated Press' top 25—wins over TCU, Nebraska and Colorado State represented an excellent start for a program that has had just two winning seasons since 2006 and has cycled through six head coaches in that time.
Sanders has made Boulder the center of the college football universe this year, even if another potentially humbling matchup with USC is on tap. The chance to keep him and add stability for a program that hasn't truly been relevant since the Gary Barnett years—and before that, in the late 80s and early 90s—would be huge for Colorado.
That will be up to Sanders. But whether in Boulder or elsewhere in college football, he intends to be on the sidelines for quite some time.
"I don't see myself retiring no time soon," he told USA Today. "I'm a go-getter, man."
