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Why Colorado can't afford to fire Deion Sanders this season

Colorado football’s recent struggles have reignited questions about head coach Deion Sanders’ future, but financial realities make his departure unlikely. The Buffaloes have lost three straight games, including a 29-7 home defeat to No.

11 Texas Tech and a blowout loss to Northwestern, with Sanders himself pinpointing quarterback play as the primary issue. Despite the team’s 2-3 record and winless Big 12 campaign, Sanders remains under contract with a steep buyout clause—$26.6 million if fired before December 31, 2026, a figure that decreases annually.

His tenure has seen only one winning season (2024), and since the departures of quarterback Travis Hunter and his son Sheduer, Colorado’s roster has hemorrhaged talent, with 40 players hitting the transfer portal this cycle. Sanders’ defensive approach—frequently benching players only to see them leave—has failed to stabilize the program, while his leadership has been criticized for deflecting blame rather than addressing systemic failures in recruiting and game management.

With a critical home matchup against No. 12 Utah looming on October 17, the Buffaloes face mounting pressure to turn things around before fan frustration forces a reckoning with Sanders’ long-term role.

The quarterback carousel remains the most glaring weakness, yet Sanders’ contract and the program’s financial constraints ensure he won’t be held accountable anytime soon. His refusal to hire a special teams coordinator or take responsibility for clock management further underscores a lack of vision beyond reactive decisions.

While Sanders’ public comments acknowledge the team’s struggles, his inability to develop a functional quarterback or retain talent suggests deeper structural issues. The 2024 season’s lone victory, secured by the Hunter father-son duo, now feels like an outlier, and without a clear path to improvement, Colorado risks another year of irrelevance.

The upcoming bye week offers a brief reprieve, but the urgency to address Sanders’ leadership—or the lack thereof—will only grow as the season progresses.

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