Super Bowl champion James Jones is NOT holding back, warning that if Colorado fires Deion Sanders, the program is looking at a massive 90 percent roster collapse. This isn’t just some hot take; Jones played nine seasons in the NFL, won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers, and led the league in receiving touchdowns in 2012. He knows what winning looks like, and he sees the anger from the stands and social media panic about Prime, but he says those fans are straight-up wrong to call for the coach’s head.
A Champion’s Brutal Truth
Jones is making his point crystal clear. He said, according to Yahoo Sports, “I HATE when people are not grateful. Before he got there, what were y’all? If you FIRE him, you gonna lose 90% of that team, and you are going to go back to being AWFUL.” You can’t argue with the numbers backing up that fear, either. Colorado has brought in roughly 169 transfers since Sanders took over in 2023, while about 167 players have bolted the program. That’s insane movement, right? Most of those dudes came because they wanted to play for Prime. If Prime’s gone, they’re gone too.
Jones also pointed directly to the cash cow that Deion has created. The stadium was barely full before Sanders. Now, it’s packed to the gills because of him. Ticket sales are way up, and the national attention is through the roof. All that buzz and excitement? It’d just vanish if the coach gets fired. Jones even called it the “stupidest decision to let Prime go.” And he’s not alone on this one. Former NFL star LeSean McCoy agrees, reminding everyone that Colorado was totally irrelevant before Coach Prime rolled into town and urging fans to give him some grace.
Reality Check in Boulder
Look, the mood in Boulder is not exactly sunshine and rainbows right now. The Buffaloes have dropped three straight games, and their overall standing has fallen to 2-3 with an ugly 0-2 record inside Big 12 competition. The latest sting? A 29-7 home loss to No. 12 Texas Tech on Saturday. They actually held a 7-3 lead at halftime, only to completely fall apart and give up 26 unanswered points after the break. It was a brutal second half, pure and simple, with four turnovers and two missed field goals just killing their chances.
Deion Sanders isn’t ducking the blame. After the game, he told reporters the score was unacceptable, saying, “We’ve been horrible, don’t sugarcoat it.” He wasn’t making excuses, either. “Seven points? You’re not gonna win. Not gonna win. Don’t sugarcoat it no more. Just tell it what it is.” The offense is struggling big time, ranking a pathetic 124th in the nation in scoring. That’s a serious problem. And the quarterback position is definitely the main issue. Two years ago, Colorado landed five-star quarterback Julian Lewis, who was supposed to be the heir apparent to Shedeur Sanders. The plan looked amazing on paper, but Lewis got benched just two weeks ago in that loss to Baylor.
So, where does Colorado go from here? The team is in a tough spot, and the pressure is real. The question isn’t just about winning games now, it’s about the entire future of the program. Do they stick with the plan and hope Prime can turn it around, or do they risk losing everything he’s built? This decision is massive, and it’ll define their next decade.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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