‘Disaster Brewing in Boulder,’ ‘Culture Seems Very Toxic’ — CFB Fans React to Deion Sanders’ Surprise Dismissal of Colorado Players After Northwestern Loss
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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders sits at a crossroads with his team. Despite sitting at 2-1, the Buffaloes are hurting after last week’s loss against Northwestern.
Footage of Colorado players mocking the Wildcats’ temporary stadium before the game went viral on social media, which didn’t age well once Northwestern easily dispatched the Buffaloes, 41-7. After the loss, some Colorado players’ demeanor didn’t sit well with Coach Prime, prompting him to dismiss them.
Social Media Reacts to Colorado HC Deion Sanders Releasing Players After Loss
It took the Buffaloes until the third quarter to cross the goal line, avoiding the shutout but still losing by 34 points. Sanders explained his decision to dismiss certain players after the loss.
“It’s never one,” Sanders said on Tuesday. “I’m one of the most loving and giving and forgiving men you could ever meet, but when you start being detrimental to the team…, you don’t care about the team, you care about you, I have a problem with that.”
“A year ago, I didn’t put my foot down in it enough. It lingered a little bit. Then, it imploded. I’m not doing that anymore,” Sanders added.
Immediately, social media provided plenty of opinions about what’s going on in Boulder.
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“There is a absolutely disaster brewing in Boulder. Who are the players dismissed?” wrote one user.
Three games into his fourth season, Sanders owns an 18-22 record. Two of his first three full seasons have ended with sub-.500 records. Surprisingly, many have started to separate the coach from the program in how they are perceived.
“Deion seems like such a good guy but the culture behind his program seems very toxic,” stated another user.
The player dismissal seems like one in a series of events that always seem to exist around Sanders’ program. For example, players have left the program for other schools, always with either a troubling story or criticism of the environment that seems to veer away from common complaints. However, the dismissals appear to stem from the players’ behavior after the loss.
“Wow. Sanders was clearly unhappy with some of his players’ demeanors after the Northwestern loss. He told reporters postgame, ‘I addressed it, and I’m gonna put my foot in it, not on it.’ and seems to have backed that statement up with these dismissals,” replied The Daily Northwestern reporter Andrew Little.
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For as troubled as Colorado appears from the outside, the program still maintains its share of backers.
“I agree with Coach Prime on this, last yr you can tell players were not bought it, one bad apple can poison a whole tree, so I’m with him on this…” responded an X user.
Last year saw a revolving door at quarterback, with Colorado switching from a transfer to a backup to a prized five-star recruit throughout the year. Additionally, Sanders’ staff saw significant turnover this offseason, including the resignation of NFL legend Warren Sapp. Some argue that Sanders’ snap decision could be reminiscent of another famous coaching decision.
“Jimmy Johnson move right there,” wrote one fan.
In 1993, Jimmy Johnson, then the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, cut linebacker John Roper for sleeping during a special-teams meeting. Years later, when asked if he would do that to a starter, the coach said no. Perhaps Sanders’ dismissal of players is also meant to send a message to the team as a whole.
Sanders’ offense needs to rapidly improve. The Buffaloes occupy the No. 89 spot in PFN’s College Offense Impact Score. Before welcoming Texas Tech to town on October 3, Colorado heads to Baylor, giving the head coach and the team another chance to get things right before the season gets away from them.
Time will tell how the dismissals affect the team. More importantly, will they affect how Sanders disciplines his team for the rest of the season?
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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