After much deliberation, it appears the Deion Sanders-driven hype train up in Colorado isn’t halting just yet. Interest from the top rung of the football ladder in hiring Deion has been conspicuous for a while. However, it’s all but certain he’s going to continue his escapades in Boulder with the Buffs. The proverbial train has seen two members get off, though. This spews an odd dynamic and a fascinating conundrum. The CFB sphere shall thus do what it does best- hypothesize.

Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter are on their way to the NFL, and perhaps Shilo will be on their way. This next year shall mark the first of his coaching career that Prime will not have his sons on his team. It’s going to be a litmus test of just how good a coach Deion Sanders really is under more ‘regular’ circumstances. But that’s a whole different can of worms to discern through. A trio of CFB analysts have raised a question that almost exclusively arises only for the eccentric persona that Deion imbibes. 

Over on the Athletic’s ‘Until Saturdays’ podcast, reporter/hosts Chris Vannini, David Ubben, and Scott Dochterman discussed the imminent new dawn of the Buffs’ Deion Sanders era. Dochterman presented a potential issue that’s perhaps being overlooked. “Not having his kids there, them being in the NFL and Travis Hunter being in the NFL. Does he have a wandering eye?” he asked. “Will he be paying attention to what they’re doing more so than what he’s doing in Colorado? I don’t think so, but you never know. I mean, that’s going to be the perception if they get beat in a bad way.” This is an unexplored perspective on things. The co-hosts also chimed in with their POVs.

Chris Vannini floated a concern, asking, “Is he going out to NFL games on Sunday instead of being in the office because Shedeur is playing?” David Ubben brought some past precedence to this unique scenario. “I remember the example of this was Chad Morris. He was in Arkansas. [Their] fans were furious because Chad would get on a private plane…fly to Dallas and go to Chandler Morris, his son’s, [highschool] games.”

Hopping on a private jet across the country is something Deion Sanders can actually pull off. He’s probably got a bank balance that reads more like a phone number. We also know he’s got all the time in the world for his sons. So, with those two things a non-factor, what’s stopping Deion from pursuing this routine every Sunday?

Why Deion Sanders needs to be wary of this outlandish ritual on Sundays

For starters, the optics of it all are rather ugly. On the surface level, flying potentially thousands of miles on a private jet every single week to catch a game you can watch on TV is a bit of an overkill and something that won’t earn Deion the reverence of the environmentalists. But as mentioned, that’s very surface-level in the grand scheme of CFB. The problems that can stem from such a scenario may not be worth it.

The Colorado fanbase adores Deion Sanders. He’s a bit of a messiah figure up in Boulder. Changing the trajectory of the program from arguably the worst in the FBS to very competitive. It’s this adulation that shields him from outside skepticism about his perception as a coach and methodology. Being seen as someone who takes crucial time, that should ideally go towards the Buffs, for going to NFL games can turn sections of the fanbase against him. Especially if the Win/Loss column isn’t desirable. This will allow the skeptics to infiltrate this figurative shield and mount the misery.

“If Billy Napier’s son was in the NFL and he was going to NFL games on Sunday. Florida fans would be pulling their money together for somebody to go take a sledgehammer to the glass in the [office],” said David Ubben. Deion has a lot of credit in the bank at Colorado, more than most other coaches. However, you can’t have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. The potential repercussions that will ensue once Shedeur, Shilo, and Travis are in the NFL are a morbidly exciting proposition.