Year 3 at Colorado proved to be the most trying in Deion Sanders‘ short tenure in Boulder. Not only did he face multiple health issues, including having his bladder removed in May during a cancer battle, but Sanders’ Buffaloes went just 3-9 for his worst single-season record as a collegiate head coach.

But, to hear the 58-year-old pro and collegiate Hall of Famer tell it, the best is yet to come. Sanders addressed last year’s struggles and made a bold pledge about the upcoming 2026 college football season during Friday morning appearance on ESPN’s First Take from Santa Clara, Calif., the site of Sunday’s Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.

“It was a tough year for the Sanders, getting our butts kicked in Colorado. (But) we’re going to get that right — where’s my camera? — I promise you that,” Sanders said, looking into the camera as if he was speaking directly to Colorado fans. “We’re going to get that right, we’ve gotten that right with what we did in the portal.

“But it was tough for the Sanders family. … It was a tough year, but we didn’t falter, we didn’t doubt, we didn’t back up off that thing,” Sanders added. “We stood there and we fought, and we’re back. This year – 2026 — is ours. We’re going to dominate this year from the top to the bottom.”

The Buffaloes struggled in all aspects of the game in the team’s first season without quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way superstar Travis Hunter. Without Sanders’ son leading the way, Colorado shuffled through three different starting quarterbacks in 2025 as the Buffs offense finished second-to-last in the Big 12 in both scoring and total offense, averaging just 20.9 points and 328.4 total yards last season. (Only one-win Oklahoma State had worst offensive production in 2025.) At the same time, Colorado’s defense ranked dead-last in the Big 12 allowing 425.7 yards per game last season.

Suffice it to say, any improvement on 2025 would be welcomed by a devoted Buffs fanbase.

Deion Sanders shoots down coaching in the NFL due to Shedeur Sanders draft slide: ‘Ain’t no way in the world’

Ahead of the Super Bowl LX festivities, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was asked whether or not he’d ever entertain making a jump to coaching in the NFL on Friday’s edition of First Take. During the Dallas Cowboys’ hiring cycle last offseason, Sanders’ name was floated as a potential hire before Jerry Jones chose to promote offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer instead.

Sanders promptly shut down the question. He claimed that the NFL’s treatment of his son, Shedeur Sanders, has completely deterred him from wanting to enter that realm.

“Not whatsoever,” Sanders said. “After what transpired with my son last year, ain’t no way in the world.”

Sanders then took a deep breath before pausing for a moment, before continuing: “When I stop like that, that doesn’t mean I’m lost for words. I’m a head coach now … you can’t talk like that.”

— On3’s Daniel Hager contributed to this report.