USF football was close to hiring Deion Sanders but thank goodness it didn't happen

Deion Sanders strongly considered accepting the USF football job last year before going to Colorado instead. The Bulls then turned to Alex Golesh, to the initial disappointment of many USF fans.

But after Coach Prime’s chaotic first season at Colorado and the remarkable turnaround Golesh and his staff did at USF, all we can say is “WHEW!”

Every bit of national attention Deion would have initially brought to the Bulls would likely have been outweighed by the culture he would have created in the USF locker room.

How do I know that?

Check out this story by Athlon Sports. Let's stress that it uses unnamed sources, which is not ideal. They said that's because the players fear retaliation. But the story does seem in line with many other things that have come out about Sanders' first year in Boulder.

"It's like a real-life Grand Theft Auto video game," one former player told Athlon. "There are many distractions with fights, guns, and money floating around. The environment is unlike any I’ve come from before."

Another player spoke about what former five-star talent Cormani McClain endured from Sanders’ son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

"Cormani was taking a lot of heat from everyone," said the former player. "At the same time Coach Prime was saying he was in the doghouse and needed to improve, Cormani was getting bullied by Shilo (Sanders).

“After the Oregon State game, Shilo slapped him several times, which left Cormani screaming 'I'm going to kill you' repeatedly. After that, you could tell he wasn’t mentally there. It’s hard when the coaches you trust are calling you derogatory names on the practice field."

Contrast that to what Golesh has created at USF in the same time frame as Sanders.

There is an all-for-one, one-for-all vibe in the Bulls’ locker room. Veteran players are leading by example, not intimidation. While turning the direction of the program around by finishing 7-6 last year is great, Golesh and the staff are building a foundation that can keep the Bulls relevant for many years.

Oh, and there’s this.

Had Sanders come to USF, his son obviously would have been the quarterback and we never would have known how good Byrum Brown can be.

How close was that to happening?

Apparently, very close, Sanders said last fall in an interview with Bubba “The Love Sponge” Clem.

“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.”

Sanders doesn’t appear too interested in building a program the way Golesh has. Coach Prime wants microwaved results – patience to him is not a virtue. But patience is exactly what USF needed because the Bulls weren’t ready for prime time a year ago.

USF is not a finished product yet, but there is genuine excitement about where the Bulls are headed. Coach Prime may eventually live up to his own hype at Colorado, but at what cost?

Yeah, the Bulls missed out on Coach Prime.

Just lucky, I guess.