Jason Whitlock rips Deion Sanders’ coaching model & philosophy

Jason Whitlock rips Deion Sanders’ coaching model & philosophy

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Jason Whitlock rips Deion Sanders’ coaching model & philosophy

The Memphis Tigers opened their season with a 27-21 win over the UNLV Rebels over the weekend. It was the first game of the Charles Huff era in Memphis. With Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes opening their season Thursday night at Georgia Tech, sports media personality Jason Whitlock took the opportunity to compare the two coaches.

After doing a whole episode of his “Fearless” show on YouTube about Sanders heading into the season, Whitlock posted another video on X celebrating the way Huff does things compared to Coach Prime.

“Deion Sanders has the cameras,” said Whitlock. “Charles Huff has the consequences. One performs toughness for television. The other demands it when no one is watching. In the next six, seven minutes I will show you why Huff, the kid from a 10-acre hog farm outside Denton, Maryland, is the most serious hire in college football, and why the Prime Time model, for all its charisma, is the wrong way to build men and build a team.”

MORE: Colorado football coach responds to viral video of players being ‘too small’

Charles Huff’s resume

Memphis men’s football head coach Charles Huff speaks to fans after the introductory press conference for new women’s basketball

Memphis Tigers head coach Charles Huff speaks to fans after the introductory press conference for new women’s basketball coach Hana Haden at Elma Roane Field House on April 1, 2026. Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

“No speeches about work ethic. Just work,” Whitlock continued. “Huff said he knew at 6 that he wanted to coach. No football offers out of high school. Walk-on at Hampton. Not an anointed scholarship kid. A walk-on who earned the starting center job, earned the captaincy and learned that nothing is given. Then, seven coaching stops. Grinding. Tennessee State, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Mississippi State and the Ph.D. under Nick Saban at Alabama. He did not network his way up. He worked his way up.

“Deion took the opposite elevator. Prime Time was a brilliant player who became a brand. The sunglasses after dark. The luggage. The reality show. The son and quarterback. The portal as a revolving door. The press conference as performance. It is the confusion killing college football. The belief that aura is authority and attention is achievement. Deion wants you to watch him. Huff wants you to watch your assignment.”

MORE: Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis makes surprising admission about Deion Sanders’ staff last season

Coach Prime missing from ESPN

CU football head coach Deion Sanders, or Coach Prime, watches his team warm up before the game against CSU in the Rocky Mountain

CU football head coach Deion Sanders, or Coach Prime, watches his team warm up before the game against CSU in the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Canvas Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fort Collins, Colo. Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

Whitlock might not be the only one done with Coach Prime. While Colorado will open the season on ESPN this week, the network is much quieter about the program than it has been in past years. Last season, the Buffaloes went 3-9 and finished 15th in the Big 12 standings.

Celebrities and “First Take” hosts are no longer flying out to the games. Coach Prime’s aura is going to need to do a lot of work this season, or we’re going to find out what kind of stomach he and the administration have for slowly rebuilding a program when he’s already entering his fourth season in Boulder.

Meanwhile, Charles Huff is just getting started in Memphis, and he may not need long to prove Whitlock right in this situation.

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