I found myself reading an article today about how Deion Sanders just hired a DC and is paying him more than any DC was paid in the history of Colorado football. The article was fairly disparaging–arguing that the hire was not someone who ever called plays and, in short, was unqualified. What the argument neglected to mention was that this particular candidate, 38 yr old Robert Livingston, left his NFL assistant coaching job and shut down DC offers at the pro level to come to Colorado. Why was this not a focus of the article? Because the article, like most, was a hit job designed to make Sanders look like a bad coach. The spotlight has been on Prime since he started coaching, and that light grew brighter when he took the reins of a power 5 conference school. Let’s look at that school’s football record over the past decade since 2013: 4-8, 2-10, 4-9, 10-4, 5-7, 5-7 (all with Mike MacIntyre) 5-7 (Mel Ticker’s one year before departing to MSU), 4-2, 4-8, 1-11 (Karl Dorrell).
Sanders lead the team to a 4-8 record with a point differential closer than every other losing season in the past decade. Yet it was a losing season. Yet it was a three game improvement from the previous season with an entirely new squad that hardly had time to gel. So, was Sanders a fail? No. Are we still getting hit articles making him out to be a fail? Yep. Every choice is scrutinized at a level beyond what you get from any other program. Moreover, when he makes waves in the media the pushback is twice as fast and twice as intense. He is new to the FBS. He is new to the Power 5. He is not getting any of the slack other coaches get. Heck, several HCs jumped ship to become coordinators elsewhere and we aren’t talking them down or saying anything much about that. Yet Prime hires a proven NFL guy and we like, “why he pay that man?”
I am tired. I am tired of feeling like there is so much push back against black culture. Prime Time Sanders is black culture. He is loud and proud and here and nobody wants to accept that he can also be good at his job. Will he win the Natty next year? No. But why is that the standard we place on him alone? If Kalen DeBoer doesn’t win next year, nobody is calling for his job. Prime will succeed and it will happen sooner than most think. Next year he is getting a bowl game and there is a real chance he is getting his team in the tourney. If he does and doesn’t win, folks will hate. If he doesn’t, folks will hate. The one truth is that whatever he does, hate will follow. Perhaps that is the standard we ought to place: If they hating, you are doing your job.