Deion Sanders’s short tenure as the head coach of the University of Colorado Boulder football team has already elevated Buffaloes games to a must-see television event.
Colorado came back from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat Colorado State on Saturday night. That 43-35 victory in double overtime lifted Coach Prime’s Pac-12 squad to a 3-0 record in 2023.
Despite predictions that Deion Sanders’s run leading his son, star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and the rest of the Colorado players would fail, the Pro Football Hall of Famer continues to defy the doubters.
Deion Sanders apparently has a huge fan in 4-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal. The former Los Angeles Lakers center even compared Sanders to legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson.
“I know exactly what the kids are going through because when you are standing in front of someone that has an impressive résumé and you’re trying to get to the level that he gets to, everything you say is golden,” Shaquille O’Neal told TMZ Sports.
Shaq also added, “I felt that way when Phil Jackson first came to the Lakers. Before he got there, me and Kobe [Bryant], we got swept all the time. But when he stepped in the locker room, we saw he didn’t panic so it told us not to panic. We know that this guy knows what he’s talking about.”
Phil Jackson coached the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA Championships between 2000 and 2010. Before finding success in the City of Angels, the Zen Master won six NBA Championships between 1991 and 1998 as the leader of the Chicago Bulls.
“When [Colorado] was down 15 [points], a camera panned to Deion’s face and it reminded me of Phil Jackson. I’ve always said, ‘If the general doesn’t panic, the troops don’t panic,'” said Shaquille O’Neal. The Inside the NBA analyst later stated, “Deion, right now, is the best coach in college football.”
Deion Sanders has not only generated global buzz for the University of Colorado Boulder in the sports world. The professional football and baseball legend also invited Hip-Hop culture to The Centennial State. Both Lil Wayne and Offset were on hand to watch Colorado defeat Colorado State.