Greg McElroy ranks Deion Sanders as No. 22 coach in college football

Deion Sanders improved the program from year one to year two at Colorado. That has him high on the list for Greg McElroy as far as coaches in college football – with one question being the biggest difference of where he could be after year three.

McElroy rated Coach Prime at No. 22 overall on the list of his Top-25 coaches in the sport during part one of the ranking on Monday. For reference, that had him just ahead of Indiana’s Curt Cignetti and just after BYU’s Kilani Sitake. That comes after the Buffaloes improved in record as well as in performance from ’23 to ’24.

“So, I look at what was done last year – and there are plenty of people that will point to the shortcomings of the Colorado program from 2023. That is the conclusion that they jump to about what Colorado is going to be and they refuse to acknowledge the progress that was made last year. I’m not talking just wins and losses. Wins and losses sometimes are a challenging thing to gauge progress on because sometimes you might be a better team but your record might not be as good,” said McElroy. “If you look at where Colorado struggled in ’23 and how much they improved in ’24? That’s what lands Coach Prime in our Top-22 coaches in America.”

Colorado went from 4-8 to 9-4 year-over-year for their most wins in a decade in their debut in the Big 12, which had them in contention for the College Football Playoff. While they had as much top-end talent as they did the season prior, the biggest difference in that was on the lines of scrimmage as, offensively, Colorado gave up 13 fewer sacks while, defensively, the Buffs had 30 more tackles for loss, 12 more sacks, and allowed 23 less rushing yards.

“They were much better along both lines of scrimmage,” McElroy noted. “Now, far from elite along the offensive and defensive lines but, compared to what they were? Coach Prime clearly identified some shortcomings in his first year at Colorado, addressed those shortcomings and the progress that was made was very obvious from start to finish.”

With that, there is proof of concept to go with the hype surrounding Sanders. Now, McElroy believes this could be a common finish for Colorado if they continue to build off of this.

“I think he is a coach that has a ridiculously high ceiling because of his ability to attract talent, because of his ability to get the guys to play insanely hard, and because of the conference that he’s in. He’s got a lot of support from a resource standpoint at Colorado,” added McElroy.

That said, Coach Prime does have something to prove in ’25. He’ll have to show they can continue to succeed even without two first-round draft picks and two of the very best players in the sport the past two seasons in QB Shedeur Sanders and ATH Travis Hunter.

“It will be fascinating to see what happens this year. I can’t wait to see it because a lot of coaches can win games with the best quarterback in the country, arguably. A lot of coaches can win games with the best player in the country, arguably – I’m not sure there was much of an argument, Travis Hunter won the Heisman. So, with those two guys gone, was it more about those two individuals and their elite-level skill? Or was it more about the other 20 starters on the roster, offensively and defensively?” McElroy thought. “That’s what we’re going to find out. This year, we’ll find out about the health of the program, what the foundation of the program looks like. Because we know they have stars and we know they have guys that will play in the NFL. But, foundationally, can the team win without super premier players at quarterback, wide receiver/corner? Will be fascinated to watch.”

Still, Colorado is in a much better place regardless since the arrival of Sanders, especially after 2024. That’s why, despite only being just inside his Top-25, McElroy would have him even higher if he were picking coaches to put money into in the future.

“I love the trajectory that Coach Prime is on at Colorado and, if I had to buy somebody right now as far as their stock is concerned in the future, Coach Prime would be at or near the top of my list of guys I would want to invest in,” said McElory.