Deion Sanders was front and center at Big 12 Media Day on Tuesday as he’s set to enter his fourth season as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes.
Last season, following the departures of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, the team took a dip, finishing 3-9 overall and missing out on a bowl game.
However, it was also quite the challenging year for Sanders as he tried to navigate a cancer diagnosis, which he’s since beat.
Sanders admitted that he didn’t have his “quickness” of being “free of thought” last season and blamed the team’s struggles on himself.
“And that’s where I was,” Sanders said via ESPN. “So, I’m putting that on me. I’m putting that on me, that it was some holes that I saw that I didn’t make the adjustments on. I should have shot some things early on.”
Sanders Responds to Question About Health
Sanders was asked if he sees himself being able to coach long-term due to his health and while he chose not to take a deep dive into his plans, he had a strong message about his mindset.
He said he did feel like he could still coach for a long time and then answered with, “Let’s not talk about tomorrow. We got today at hand. Yeah. I’m going to focus on it now. When I’m [at] my best, I focus on it now and I dominate the now. Then I deal with the next day.”
Sanders added, “My younger self would be proud. I was here fighting cancer… This year, I got my dawg back. I got my swagger back… I’m ready… I can’t wait to get on the sideline and do our thing.”
#CUBuffs HC Deion Sanders on coaching at CU: “I don’t think Colorado has transformed me… My younger self would be proud. I was here fighting cancer… This year, I got my dawg back. I got my swagger back… I’m ready… I can’t wait to get on the sideline and do our thing.”
— Oliver Hayes (@ocuhayes) July 7, 2026
Sanders Opens Up About Cancer Battle
Sanders admitted that his battle with cancer caused him to lose so much weight that he tried to hide how much he was struggling, even recalling how he layered extra clothing beneath his suit at last year’s Big 12 Media Day make it fit properly.
“I’m feeling darn good,” Sanders said. “I was saying last year this time, I had on, I think, a black suit, had a hoodie on up under it, and I had on shorts up under it, so the suit would fit because I had lost so much darn weight, and I didn’t really want anybody to know, but I know my face was small and I was going through it. I wasn’t me, and I’m thankful this year that I’m me. I’m all me now, and I’m happy, I’m elated, I’m excited.”
Deion Sanders Shares Strong Message After Question About His Health