The University of Colorado football program over the years often contended for the Big 8 title. It was the home of great athletes like Kordell Stewart, Darian Hagan, Eric Bieniemy, Rashaan Salaam, Dave Logan, and Cliff Branch.
But it fell on hard times the last few years. Last year, they finished 1-11, lost their last four games by an average of over 30 points, and fired the coach.
Then they did something crazy. They hired a guy whose coaching experience was limited to several high schools, one of which was plagued by scandal, and then a historically black college that played second-division football.
But this new coach had some things going for him. He was a three-sport athletic star in college baseball, track, and football. In high school, he was also a basketball star. He became a solid Major League Baseball player and a star in the NFL — the only player in history to hit a major league home run and score an NFL touchdown in the same week. After retiring, he was promptly inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.
He goes by several names. His first was Prime Time, which was given to him by teammates on his high school basketball team. Later in college football, they called him “Neon Deion.”
Yeah, it’s Deion Sanders. His players call him “Coach Prime.”
I confess I never particularly liked the guy during his playing days. His flamboyant style rubbed me wrong, maybe because I personally have never been flamboyant
