Deion Sanders praises Pat Shurmur, Robert Livingston for job they did at Colorado this season

Despite a less-than-auspicious ending with Saturday’s 36-14 Alamo Bowl loss to Big 12 rival BYU, Year 2 under Deion Sanders was an unmitigated success for Colorado.

The Coach Prime-led Buffaloes finished 9-4 this season, more than doubling last season’s four-win total, and made the program’s first bowl game since 2020.

Oh, let’s not forget two-way superstar Travis Hunter claiming Colorado‘s second-ever Heisman Trophy win along with a littany of other individual honors.

But while Hunter and Deion Sanders, as well as his quarterback son Shedeur, get much of the credit, Coach Prime made it a point to praise the work of his offensive and defensive coordinators — Pat Shurmur and Robert Livingston, respectively — following Saturday’s bowl game.

“They did a wonderful job. I’m proud of them. I love them,” Sanders said of Shurmur and Livingston. “They know how to communicate with all of our young men. They really put them in positions for them to be extremely successful, and I love where we’re headed. I’m proud of those two.

“Not just those two, the whole staff. I’m pretty sure a couple of them are going to come in my office about elevation because people are going to want them on their staffs, and that’s what we’re here for. We’re here to advance people. You either get terminated or elevated; it’s either going to be one of the two sooner or later.”

In Shurmur’s first full season as play-caller, Colorado’s offense saw steady improvement from 2023 to 2024, including a full 20 yards per game boost in total offense (363.6 to 383.2 yards per game) and nearly 5-point uptick in scoring offense (28.2 to 32.9 points per game).

Meanwhile, the Buffaloes defense saw significant progression in the first season under Livingston, including an 11.7 points-per-game drop in scoring defense and a 101.4 yards-per-game improvement in total defense. After ranking as the Pac-12’s second-worst defense in 2023, Colorado ranked in the Top 6 in the Big 12 in scoring defense (23.1 points per game) and eighth in total defense (351.9 yards per game) this past season.

Deion Sanders reveals what he learned from Colorado over last two years

Following the Alama Bowl, Sanders opened up on his first two seasons at Colorado. In particular, he shared what he’s learned from the team after an up-and-down first two seasons with the program.

“Patience,” Deion Sanders said. “They’ve taught me a tremendous amount of patience, and they taught me about forgiveness. There’s a lot of young men, a lot of things transpired that you guys don’t know about and aren’t privy to, but I’m a tremendous forgiving person, and I absolutely love these guys.”

Colorado went 13-12 over Sanders’ first two seasons with the program. Each of those seasons saw the Buffaloes win more games than the season prior. After inheriting a 1-11 team, Sanders flipped the roster through the Transfer Portal, winning four games in 2023 and nine games in 2024.

Dan Morrison contributed to this report.