Warren Sapp Resigns from Deion Sanders' Colorado Coaching Staff After 2 Seasons

Warren Sapp's tenure as an assistant on Deion Sanders' coaching staff at Colorado has come to an end after two seasons.

In a statement released on Thursday (h/t USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer), Colorado confirmed Sapp resigned from his position with the football team.

"Warren Sapp has resigned from the CU football coaching staff to pursue other opportunities," the statement said. "CU Athletics thanks Warren for his contributions to our football program over the last two seasons and for his commitment to our student-athletes."

Sapp originally joined Sanders' staff in April 2024 as a senior quality control analyst. He had been around the team throughout the 2023 season prior to being hired.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer was also taking graduate classes at the University of Colorado at the time. He had no prior coaching experience prior to being hired by the Buffaloes.

Schrotenboer noted at the time of his hiring that Sapp's $150,000 salary was "believed to be on the high end" for a graduate assistant coach.

Sanders promoted Sapp to pass rush coordinator prior to the 2025 season. His departure comes on the heels of defensive coordinator Robert Livingston leaving the staff to become the defensive pass game coordinator for the Denver Broncos.

Coaching turnover is nothing new at Colorado under Sanders. Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion and offensive line coach Andre Gurode are among the new hires heading into the 2026 season.

Colorado is coming off its worst season since Sanders took over as head coach. The Buffaloes finished 3-9 and lost eight of their nine conference games. They ranked outside the top 100 in all of FBS in both points scored and points allowed per game.

Sapp and Sanders were two of the NFL's biggest stars in the 1990s. Their careers overlapped for eight seasons from 1995 to 2000 and 2004 to '05. Both players were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in their first year on the ballot.