Coach Prime has been in the media spotlight since his days as a young college athlete in Florida. NFL success, MLB career, a post-retirement media run and now a coaching stint! We have seen various phases of Deion Sanders’ life. In his current avatar as the Buffs’ coach, Prime Time hasn’t had the best of the times with the media. Early last season, when the Buffs seemed to be on a run in his first set of games in Boulder, Coach Prime got all the love, and then the scrutiny followed after things went south. Now, even with the success that the program has been having, especially with the way things have turned around from 1-11 season before Deion took over, some people are still hesitant to give the man his flowers.

Moreover, the heightened nature of scrutiny is also been a theme when it comes to Deion Sanders’ team. Of course, when you have Prime Time, there is going to be flamboyance, charisma, and some claims that may not seem achievable. And then there is the question of race. Being a black head coach in a space where predominantly, the coaches have been white. That means extra eyes on what you do. Naturally, people who believe in Prime Time wonder whether skin color makes a difference in how Deion has been treated.

Take, for instance, Brian Kelly, the head coach of LSU Tigers, who is known to have been shouting at his players. We saw a full-on Brian Kelly meltdown after LSU’s Week 1 loss (20-27) at the hands of the USC Trojans. How did Kelly react? In the post-game presser, the veteran coach turned red-hot and slammed the table. This wasn’t it. We have the latest update. During their Week 12 game against the Gators (which they lost 16-27), Brian Kelly was spotted lashing out at wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr after he missed a big play, taking a bad time jump. But just alter the name! If it would be Deion Sanders, would the consequence be the same? That’s what Shannon Sharpe and Chad ‘Ocho’ Johnson wondered about in the November 16 episode of their podcast ‘Nightcap‘. 

Shannon asked Ocho about the media reaction if Deion behaved like Kelly on the sidelines. ‘‘It’d be the headline story. He can’t get away with that, you understand. He doesn’t have the complexion for the protection. There are certain things that he can and can’t do now. He would get chastised for that type of coaching.”

Of course, it matters that Brian Kelly is known for that kind of behavior. So, he’s bound to get a pass for that kind of coaching. However, the same applies to Coach Prime. The way he’s now, it’s not a new thing that he developed in Colorado. “How do you think he got the name Prime Time?” Shannon asked.

“He has been calling himself Prime Time since 87. Damn, near 40 years, he’s been this way. Did you not see him on Draft? Did you not hear the story about how he got to the team he wanted to interview? He asked them where are y’all picking, and they said such and such well, I ain’t going to be there, he got up and walked out,” Sharpe said.

This story is indeed true and happened to the New York Giants. Coach Prime asked the Giants’ people where they were picking in the first round. When he heard that the Giants were picking at No. 10, he walked out, saying that he wouldn’t be there till that late.

Sanders took a lot of bumps for an unconventional style of coaching. Be it accompanying his players to the locker room by jogging a little or adapting to an NFL free agency-like approach in recruiting, Sanders set his own benchmark. But the most laudable philosophy of his coaching, as Sherrone Sharpe revealed, ‘‘Football is a microcosm of life. He said I’m just not trying to put guys in the NFL. I’m trying to make great husbands, I’m trying to make great community men, I’m trying to make great leaders.”

The naysayers may not yet come around, but they will someday, but the larger point still stands. For some coaches, the way to the top is rockier than others, often for the things they can’t control, like the skin of their color. Coach Prime, the quintessential trailblazer, will have his way!

Shilo Sanders reveals father Deion Sanders’ ‘loudest’ on-field treatment 

The Sanders family pulling each other’s leg on the national media is enough to serve your daily dose of entertainment. But their banters have deeper consequences. It not only just helps us live through the chemistry they have, but also provides important closures on some lesser-known truths inside the locker room or the field.

During the July 21 Well Off Media video, Shilo jokingly spilled the bean of Coach Prime’s minute behavioral instinct while on the field. He called out his dad and said, ”You think you don’t get angry? You know what you say on the field, right?” Then, hilariously mimicking Deion’s voice, Shilo shouted, ”Get off the field!”.

”You have the loudest voice in college football!”, son gave the reality check to coach Prime. Thanks to Sanders’ inner understanding makes him strike the right balance between aggressiveness and courteousness during a game, avoiding a moment like Kelly’s.

What’s your take on the uneven comparison between Brian Kelly and Deion Sanders in the wake of the recent LSU game controversy?