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Coach Prime

The docuseries follows Deion Sanders (nicknamed "Prime Time"), head coach of the Jackson State University Tigers football team, on and off the field. During the team's 2022 undefeated SWAC championship season, the team had to contend with a water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, with players moving to different locations, and Sanders guiding them through the crisis.[1][2][3]

Coach Prime was originally launched by SMAC Entertainment in 2021 as a six-episode documentary series following Deion Sanders in his first year as head coach of the Jackson State Tigers, airing on Barstool Sports' YouTube channel starting on August 29, 2021.[4] A second six-episode season was released on Barstool on March 6, 2022.[5]

The attention is nothing new for Sanders. He went 27-6 in three years as the head coach of Jackson State, winning two conference championships at a school that had gone 18-37 in the five years before his arrival. That success combined with his persona led to his final season being chronicled in a four-part docuseries, "Coach Prime."

Hagan has logged two stints as Colorado's running backs coach, the latter of which ended in 2022. He also served as director of player personnel and director of player development, and he currently works as executive director for community engagement and outreach, and football ambassador, under Sanders.

A celebrity is now coaching Colorado, and other celebrities are talking about the Buffs. Last month, Sanders hosted rapper Lil Wayne, who toured the team's facility while cameras rolled. He marveled, "That's the f---ing locker room?" upon seeing where the players suited up.

Hagan equates Sanders' presence at Colorado to former coach Bill McCartney, who he played for, in that they both carry "rock star" personalities on campus and in town. Athletic director Rick George, who served as Colorado's recruiting coordinator and assistant athletic director for football operations under McCartney from 1987 to 1990, also sees similarities in how Sanders and McCartney outlined expectations, standards and discipline.

"I was here during those glory years," said university chancellor Phil DiStefano, then a professor in Colorado's school of education. "People from around the country, they weren't alumni but they were wearing Colorado apparel, whether it was Rashaan or Kordell Stewart. Now it's starting with the coach. He's started this transformation, this excitement."

The season-ticket renewal rate stands at 97%, according to a Colorado spokesperson, by far the best in school history. Colorado expects to sell out of season tickets this month, and the increase outpaces the 2017 season, which came after coach Mike MacIntyre was named the National Coach of the Year. Let that sink in: Hiring Sanders following a terrible season did more to generate ticket interest than winning the Pac-12 South and finishing ranked for the first time since 2002.

"Very few people saw Karl [Dorrell] or our other coaches, whether it was Coach MacIntyre or Coach [Dan] Hawkins, really being out and being visible," DiStefano said. "With Coach Sanders, he's very visible. It's a positive change for us, coming off of a 1-11 season. To have that turned around so much on the social media platforms -- 'Colorado is finished, there's nothing going on there, four coaches in the last [11] years' -- now, it just changed overnight, and it's because of his personality, because he gets out there."

SANDERS' COLLEGE COACHING experience was limited to just three seasons at Jackson State. Although he had interviewed with Power 5 schools -- Arkansas and Florida State talked to him in 2019, before he had coached a college game -- none hired him.

When he played, Sanders attracted almost as much attention for what he said as what he did. He never filtered his thoughts as a star athlete, and so far, he's not doing it as the head coach at Colorado.

Sanders' leadership record isn't spotless, either. Before getting into college coaching, Sanders co-founded Prime Prep Academy, a Texas-based charter school, which collapsed amid significant debt and lawsuits. According to the Dallas Morning News, the school was perceived to focus on athletics at the expense of academics.

Colorado is willing to accept the risk. After forcing out Gary Barnett in 2005, the school tried out different types of coaches: Group of 5 success stories like Hawkins and MacIntyre, an ascending coordinator in Mel Tucker, a notable alum in Jon Embree and a veteran coach with CU roots in Dorrell, who was fired in October. None of them succeeded.

Hagan, who coached and recruited some of the players in the room that night, said he has heard other new CU coaches deliver similar messages in their initial meetings. The difference was those gatherings did not have cameras present, and Sanders wasn't the one talking.

Sanders remade himself as a college football coach and elite recruiter in Mississippi throughout these last two years. He likely never planned to stay in relative obscurity at Jackson State for very long.

Sanders has been busy gathering his staff since being hired by the Buffaloes on Dec. 3. His budget is $5 million for assistant coaches, which was a substantive bump over the allocation afforded to former coach Karl Dorrell for assistants.

Kelly joins the Buffaloes from Alabama, where he served as the associate defensive coordinator. Lewis relocates to Boulder after five years as head coach at Kent State, bringing with him a high-scoring offense that averaged 49.8 points in 2020.

The football coach and legendary football and baseball star is set to kick off the first evening of the event, sharing his unique perspective and leadership experiences with the group. His talk will be available to both in-person and virtual attendees.

Coach Prime is currently the head football coach at the University of Colorado. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a two-time Super Bowl champion and eight-time Pro Bowler, Sanders played 14 years in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens. He is the only person in professional sports history to play in the World Series and the Super Bowl. Since retiring from professional sports, Sanders became an analyst for CBS Sports, and NFL Network, and now offers his insights and opinions on a variety of television shows, including Coach Prime, a recent docuseries on Prime Video which follows Sanders and his college football journey.

Jackson State University head coach Deion Sanders walks along the sideline during the Orange Blossom Classic between Florida A&M University and Jackson State University at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021.Orange Blossom Classic 090521 Ts 3627

As Coach Prime has assembled his staff, it is apparent coaches want to be part of the Prime experience as much as the players want to be part of the Prime experience. Of the many great things that Sanders did while at Jackson State, Sanders does not get enough credit for the staff he assembled while in Jackson.

The drama of his recruitment was a spectacle down to the last minute with the Miami coaching staff showing up to his school last Friday only to find McClain not there. Instead he was already in Colorado touring the facilities.

University of Colorado Boulder head football coach Deion Sanders speaks to media members during a press conference on the first day of the traditional signing period for college football on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the Dal Ward Athletic Center in Boulder, Colo.(Timothy Hurst/The Denver Gazette)

Johnson was a Michigan kid committed to Eastern Michigan. Never been west of Chicago, he said. One April day, Coach Mac strolled into a clinic for Michigan high school coaches and said all of his Buffs quarterbacks were injured. CU needed a quarterback.

You need Deion Sanders strolling onto The Plains, planting a statement flag and doing the only thing that can possibly slow the Alabama/Georgia train: reach and recruit young people like no previous coach at Auburn has.

Soon after his hire, Sanders assembled his staff consisting of veteran coaches who have helped develop more than 350 all-conference players and 85 All-Americans. He had a $5 million budget to work with for his assistant coaches.

Sanders excelled in football and baseball sports in college. He went on to play professionally in two of the biggest sports in America. He grabbed opportunities to coach at the high school level, recorded music professionally, and earned his business management degree.

And opposing Pac-12 coaches, though none will admit it, must be wary of Sanders' recruiting prowess. Colorado has been a reliable conference doormat, with just one winning full season since joining the Pac in 2011. Speaking to the team, Sanders promised that the turnaround will be immediate -- with or without (mostly without) the players to whom he was speaking.

Sanders -- the Buffalos' fifth full-time coach since 2012 -- worked wonders in his three-year stint at Jackson State. He was 23-2 the past two seasons after going 4-3 in his shortened first year during the pandemic.

All this is not to say that Sanders will turn Colorado into a national power -- though that is clearly his intention. Some people believe Sanders is all bluster, and his brash ways will backfire spectacularly. He has yet to coach a single game at the FBS level.

The new Buffs coach must provide athletic director Rick George and CU chancellor Phil DiStefano with a verbal notification of such outside benefits, income, promotions or endorsements by Sept. 1; Dorrell required written notice of said arrangements. 781b155fdc