Deion Sanders Announces Bold Coaching Staff Decision For 2026

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Deion Sanders Announces Bold Coaching Staff Decision For 2026

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders had to make sweeping changes to his coaching staff over the past few weeks. Among those changes is the removal of one pretty notably coordinator role.

Speaking to the media last week, Sanders revealed that the Buffaloes will not have a special teams coordinator in 2026. His 2025 ST coordinator, Michael Pollock, was dismissed this offseason and Sanders has decided not to replace him with any one person.

“We got three new coordinators?” Sanders said. “We don’t have a special teams coordinator.”

As for how Coach Prime will actually manage his special teams, Uncle Neely of Thee Pregame Show explained that it will be more of a committee of coaches contributing, with new tight ends coach Josh Niblett likely being out in front.

"What he’s taken in this [year ’s] approach is more ownership as far as the coaches that you depend on to feed into special teams,” Neely said, via the New York Post. 

“The guys who coach the [defensive backs], the guys who coach the tight ends, the guys who coach the linebackers, etcetera, they’re all now having a say in special teams … You will see probably coach Nib in front of special teams’ kind of stuff, but it’s also all the other coaches.”

Oct 25, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders looks on during a time out in the game against the Utah Utes during the second quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

A bold strategy, or a common one?

While it may seem like an absurd decision (and not helpful given the state of the program), it's worth noting that a special teams coordinator isn't as mandatory in college football as it is in the NFL. Sports Illustrated noted that the Colorado football program has had a full-time special teams coordinator less than half of the time since 1990.

More importantly, the Buffaloes didn't have a special teams coordinator in 2024 – the year they went 9-4 and had one of their best seasons in years.

Suffice it to say, Colorado doesn't need a special teams coordinator per se.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Mar 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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