'Coach Prime is no longer him': Why Deion Sanders' hot seat isn't cooling down anytime soon (Part 2)

Editor's note: This is part two of a two-part series entitled " Why Deion Sanders' hot seat isn't cooling down anytime soon." Here's part one. 

Since Travis Hunter and Deion's sons, Shilo and Shedeur, left the Colorado Buffaloes, Coach Prime has dealt with a ton of things both personally and professionally. Being able to beat cancer is an amazing feat. But Sanders has put in more work being in commercials promoting several brands, along with promoting the Protect College Sports Act then he has been trying to coach and develop his players.

Deion Sanders is no longer him, as he would compassionately say. The force that took Jackson State by storm is gone. The first two years in Colorado seem like distant memories right now. Both ESPN and FOX were fighting over who was going to be on campus in Boulder. Now, you probably couldn't pay them to show up. This isn't anybody being a hater, as Deion would say. It's a realistic look at a program that has seen better days. And a coach who has failed to preserve his legacy.

When Sanders got to Colorado, there was something he said that stuck out and still does. He told reporters that he wants to be remembered as a coach, not a player. He'll definitely be remembered, but not for the reasons that he wants to be. As a player, Sanders will forever be enshrined in the halls of Canton.

He was one of the first defensive backs to take a flashy approach, which gave him the Prime Time persona to work with. As a coach, what's his claim to fame? Being able to develop Hunter as Colorado's second Heisman Trophy winner? The two-way star was a unicorn for the Buffs and deserves his place in history. We'll likely never see another one like him either.

Where does the Colorado athletic department go from here? There's a major problem going into 2027, which is not easily fixable. Can the Buffs suffer another losing season and still pay Sanders as a top 20 coach? Everything worked during the two-year period before Sanders received his extension. Everything has changed, and the program can't live in the past.

As one famed alumni told me recently, "There is no billionaire donor waiting to pump money into the program and none of Sanders' promotions are putting money on the books for CU."

Another harsh reality of where CU football is at right now. At some point, Sanders will no longer be in Boulder. How he does it will be the story every reporter is going to write. Ready or not, it's time to either try and reconstruct the program with a real coaching staff and let Sanders take on more of a CEO role or watch him walk off into the sunset. But Sanders staying down this path thinking his way is the best way is not working.

Shilo Sanders bankruptcy trial: Day 1 from inside the courtroom

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Tempers flare in Shilo Sanders bankruptcy trial: Day 2 

John Darjean takes the stand in Shilo Sanders' bankruptcy trial: Day 3