Paul Finebaum says Deion Sanders does not have 'anything left to prove' at Colorado

Now going into his third season with the Colorado Buffaloes, head coach Deion Sanders is beginning a new era. Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter have moved to the NFL after helping rebuild the program, leaving Deion Sanders with a new-look program.

While Deion Sanders has only been with Colorado for two seasons, analyst Paul Finebaum doesn’t think he has anything left to prove in Boulder. Finebaum recently explained on Get Up that he’s reached the realistic goals for Colorado, but just needs to do it consistently now.

“I don’t think Deion really has anything left to prove,” Finebaum said. “They may not have made the playoffs, which was unrealistic in some respects last year, but they proved that they are a very high-quality team, something I frankly didn’t think was possible when Deion got there in this short a period of time. So I think saying that Deion Sanders needs to prove anything is wrong. I just think he needs to show some consistency and get this program, as he said, more of a collective unit, because the two stars are gone. But can he coach good players, as opposed to exceptional players, one of who was his son? That’s the question.”

Deion Sanders came to Colorado ahead of the 2023 season. He brought with him a massive influx of transfers, including Shedeur and Hunter. They followed him over from Jackson State and over the course of two seasons, did find success at Colorado.

In Year 1, Colorado went 4-8. That was an improvement from the 1-11 team Sanders inherited. The next year, they went 9-4 and went to the Alamo Bowl. It was their first bowl game since the abbreviated 2020 season and the most wins in a season at Colorado since 2016. With that turnaround came rumors that Deion Sanders could be of interest to teams like the Dallas Cowboys.

“I think they need a good season. Last year was disappointing at times,” Finebaum said. “Because I think people expected a playoff run with two of the generational players of all time. This year, I think seven or eight would be a good season. A bowl game would probably be icing on the cake, and maybe keep Deion Sanders around, as opposed to all the rumors that have him going elsewhere.”

Whether he has anything to prove at Colorado or not, Deion Sanders is back for the 2025 season. He’ll be trying to find a way to find consistency with a new core group of players for the first time as a college coach. That starts when the season kicks off on August 29th against Georgia Tech.