Deion Sanders lands near bottom of recent Big 12 head coach rankings

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders was slotted near the bottom of Brett McMurphy's Big 12 coach rankings heading into the 2026 season, a placement that will likely stir debate in Boulder and among the conference. Sanders came in at No. 15, ahead of only first-year Kansas State coach Collin Klein in the 16-team league.

The ranking reflects Colorado's rough results under Sanders, who has gone 16-21 since taking over the Buffaloes ahead of the 2023 season. Still, it is a surprising spot for a coach who turned the Buffs into one of the most-watched programs in the country and delivered a 9-4 season in 2024.

Colorado's track record under Sanders

Sanders' first season started fast as Colorado opened 3-0 in 2023 with wins over TCU, Nebraska and Colorado State, briefly becoming the biggest story in college football. The season faded quickly after that, and the Buffaloes finished 4-8.

Colorado bounced back in 2024, going 9-3 and reaching the Alamo Bowl. Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy, and Shedeur Sanders earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors. But 2025 was another setback, as the Buffs fell back to 3-9 and missed a bowl game.

NEW: Big 12 head football coach rankings👀

(via @Brett_McMurphy) https://t.co/RkSS9lROw7pic.twitter.com/IHQZ3ePMIq

— On3 (@On3) June 18, 2026

Ranking debate

On3 placed BYU's Kalani Sitake at No. 1, followed by Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State), Joey McGuire (Texas Tech), Sonny Dykes (TCU) and Willie Fritz (Houston). The most notable part of the list for Colorado is that Sanders was ranked behind Utah's Morgan Scalley, despite Scalley entering his first season as a collegiate head coach.

That is where the argument starts, as Colorado's recent results have been poor, Sanders has already proven he can win at a high level in Boulder. The bigger question now is whether 2026 becomes the season that pushes the Buffaloes back toward a bowl game and changes how the rest of the league and college football view Coach Prime.

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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Deion Sanders ranked No. 15 in Big 12 head coach rankings for 2026