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<\/p>\nDeion Sanders enters his fourth season at Colorado with as much change around him as his first.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s change above him: Athletic director Rick George, one of the biggest reasons why Sanders arrived in Colorado, is retiring after the academic year, with New Mexico AD Fernando Lovo replacing him.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s change below him: Both coordinators are new, including his third offensive coordinator to begin a season in four years.<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s change all over the roster: The team will feature 58 new players, a transfer portal class that ranks 18th nationally and will be tasked with turning around a program that ended last season at the lowest point of Sanders\u2019 tenure, raising questions about the trajectory of the program. The only major carryover is likely starting quarterback Julian \u201cJuJu\u201d Lewis, the jewel of Colorado\u2019s 2025 recruiting class, who started two games last season.<\/p>\n
Sanders\u2019 Buffs quickly went from the highs of a Heisman Trophy winner in two-way star Travis Hunter and a star quarterback in Shedeur Sanders to a nightmare 3-9 season and a rotating cast at quarterback. All of it adds up to a pivotal 2026 season for Colorado and Deion Sanders, who makes $10 million a year after reaching a new deal last offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a critical juncture right now in our enterprise,\u201d Lovo told The Athletic in a recent interview. \u201cWe need a successful and healthy football program for us to make sure that we\u2019re continuing to put our best foot forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders, 58, says he\u2019s built for adversity. That he\u2019s built for change. That he\u2019s built to overcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got the right man. I promise you, you do. And I\u2019m going to prove that to you. I am,\u201d Sanders said to fans as last season wound down. \u201cJust give me an opportunity and give me a little more time and I\u2019m going to prove that to you. I will. I promise you that.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Sanders had wanted to walk away, he\u2019d have plenty of reasons. His son looks poised to enter 2026 as the Cleveland Browns\u2019 starting quarterback. Sanders traveled to see Shedeur\u2019s first NFL start on Nov. 23, the day after the Buffaloes lost 42-17 to Arizona State.<\/p>\n
Watching Shedeur make his debut last fall left Sanders in tears alone in his office, he said.<\/p>\n
George\u2019s exit was expected, but Sanders now has a new boss. Lovo said Sanders has his \u201cunequivocal support,\u201d and the two met before Lovo took the job in Boulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery conversation is rooted in what does Coach need to be successful and how do we deliver that to him?\u201d Lovo said. \u201cAt the end of the day, it all comes down to trust and alignment. He has to trust me and I have to trust him, and that only happens with time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s Sanders\u2019 health. He needed another surgery during the season to remove blood clots in his leg, his 16th surgery in just the last few years. Last spring\u2019s discovery of cancer in his bladder meant a full removal of the bladder, which required an in-depth recovery and an adjustment to a new life.<\/p>\n
Sanders\u2019 contract allows him to retire without making any payment to Colorado, provided he doesn\u2019t return to coaching. He could return to media work if he wanted, now that all his sons \u2014 the reason he started coaching in the first place \u2014 are no longer playing college football. He\u2019s already coached one season longer than many who forecasted his detour into college football was motivated by smoothing Shedeur\u2019s path to the NFL.<\/p>\n
But he\u2019s rebooting the roster again after last season\u2019s disappointment, insistent on fixing the problems in his program.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s nearly an entirely fresh look from the 2024 team that Hunter and Shedeur Sanders led to nine wins. Just five players who were on that team remain.<\/p>\n
Only 22 players from last year remain, including zero defensive linemen.<\/p>\n
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\n Colorado will lean on Julian \u201cJuJu\u201d Lewis to provide stability at quarterback after the Buffaloes cycled through three in 2025. (Alex Slitz \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The biggest exit was starting tackle Jordan Seaton, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 class, who appeared poised to return to Colorado but exited in the final days of the portal window and landed at LSU with Lane Kiffin.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wish we could retain players throughout, but you gotta understand with all this money floating for average nowadays, you could have a backup backup who backs up the backup go get a quarter of a million dollars,\u201d Deion Sanders said. \u201cThat don\u2019t make sense to me, but it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colorado reloaded well, adding more than 34,000 career snaps. Top receiver Omarion Miller left \u2014 one of three of Colorado\u2019s four leading receivers who won\u2019t return \u2014 but the Buffaloes added Danny Scudero (San Jose State), Kam Perry (Miami of Ohio) and DeAndre Moore (Texas) to backfill. That trio combined for 2,805 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns last season.<\/p>\n
Leading tackler Tawfiq Byard left for Georgia Tech, but the Buffaloes added defensive back Randon Fontenette and linebacker Liona Lefau, who started at Vanderbilt and Texas last season, respectively.<\/p>\n
All-SEC Freshman defensive back Boo Carter also arrived at Colorado after a rocky 2025 that ended with his dismissal from Tennessee.<\/p>\n
Sanders is bullish on the incoming talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey look different. They\u2019re built different. The attitude is different,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of work to do.<\/p>\n
Outside of an upset win over Iowa State, which came right before five consecutive losses to end the season, the Buffaloes\u2019 only wins came over FBS newcomer Delaware and Wyoming, which finished 4-8. The Buffaloes finished ahead of only one Big 12 team, Oklahoma State, which fired legendary coach Mike Gundy early in the season and went 1-11.<\/p>\n
Colorado says Sanders has brought a $200 million financial windfall since his arrival. More than 9 million viewers watched Colorado\u2019s season opener against TCU in 2023, and the Buffaloes were one of the sport\u2019s biggest draws.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat he\u2019s been able to bring not to just this department, but the institution in terms of notoriety and attention and eyeballs, it\u2019s incredible. And it\u2019s made a huge impact,\u201d Lovo said.<\/p>\n
Last season, Colorado was an afterthought for television viewers. The Buffaloes\u2019 52-17 loss to Arizona garnered just 374,000 viewers. Most games hovered just around 1 million.<\/p>\n
Lopsided losses offered unsavory flashbacks to the previous era of Colorado football. Utah \u2014 without starting quarterback Devon Dampier \u2014 led the Buffaloes 43-0 at halftime. A week later, Arizona led 38-7 at halftime. Arizona State scored the game\u2019s final 21 points in a 42-17 win.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a loser,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cI don\u2019t handle it well.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response to the losing, he reworked his coaching staff.<\/p>\n
New defensive coordinator Chris Marve \u2014 who was most recently an on-field coach under Brent Pry at Virginia Tech \u2014 is the most recent major change. Sanders promoted him late last month after Rob Livingston joined the Denver Broncos as defensive pass game coordinator.<\/p>\n
Sanders called Marve \u201coverqualified\u201d for the position and said he brought him aboard, anticipating that Livingston might leave the program. Livingston had interviewed with the Dallas Cowboys earlier in the offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re changes to you all. They\u2019re not changes to us. You think Marve just magically appeared on the staff?\u201d Sanders asked reporters at his spring news conference earlier this month. \u201cYou didn\u2019t think we knew there was a possibility of something that could possibly happen?\u201d<\/p>\n
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