Like many of you, I was intrigued by the notion that Deion Sanders was strongly considering USF when the Bulls were looking for a new football coach after firing Jeff Scott.
After Deion settled on Colorado, he told radio personality Bubba “The Love Sponge” Clem that USF was in it to the end.
“Oh definitely,” Sanders told Clem. “I mean, those [USF] guys that came down to meet with us, along with [Pro Football Hall of Famer] Derrick Brooks, they did a fantastic job of really highlighting the program, and it was awesome.
“So most definitely. That was no game, that was real. That was authentic. And the plans that they showed me on what’s coming there, shoot, it’s unbelievable. Like, the campus and the new stadium and how that’s going to be, it is strictly unbelievable.”
Let’s assume for a moment that Deion did come to USF. Do you know what V.P. for Athletics Michael would doing now?
A coaching search, that’s what. For all of his entertainment value, Prime Time is always looking for the biggest spotlight and that’s usually somewhere else.
Deion is playing coy with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about whether to take the vacant head coaching position, professing his love for Colorado and all that. However, many observers seem to believe he would jump at the chance to take that job.
The chance to be The Man who brings the Cowboys their first Super Bowl trophy since 1996 would be irresistible. They haven’t even played in a conference championship game since that year.
But at Colorado is a power conference program, so maybe that tugs at his heartstrings just a little bit. Had he gone to USF, however, he’d drop the Group of Five Bulls like a bad habit.
I wonder what former USF safety Tawfiq Byard is thinking now. He recently with Colorado after entering the transfer portal.
"The defensive coordinator Rob Livingston we speak the same language," Byard said, via Steve Wiltfong of On3.com. "He's an NFL guy who coached a lot of good safeties. Also the staff Coach Prime hired. They make you feel welcomed and loved. To the academic people to Coach Prime himself everyone was welcoming!"
Well, if Coach Prime heads to Dallas, there’s a good chance several members of that welcoming staff will going with him. Colorado would have to scramble to find a coach, who then would have to throw a staff together quickly, and usually that means hiring friends or people you’ve worked with in the past.
The same thing would have happened had Sanders gone to USF. You know it’s true.
I hope for Byard’s sake and the other Buffaloes who jumped at the chance to play for Coach Prime don’t get burned.
While that plays out, however, the guy who did take the USF job – Alex Golesh – is recruiting his backside off and building a program that should be sustainable.
I call that a win.