Paul Finebaum isn’t exactly leaving much room for interpretation when it comes to Deion Sanders at Colorado.
The ESPN college football analyst said Sanders is “done” with the Buffaloes after Saturday’s 29-7 loss to Texas Tech dropped Colorado to 2-3. Finebaum made his case on The Matt Barrie Show, pointing to the way the game ended and the broader feel around the program.
“When the last image of a program’s last breath is your quarterback in his own end zone throwing a pick six, it’s over,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show. “And I am not an ‘I told you so guy.’
And I thought I was wrong when I made this bullish statement years ago, and I never liked the move to Colorado. It just felt too far away from his core base.
It just didn’t feel right, and I was completely wrong for a while because they bought into it. But that is not an easy place to manage.
“It is going to end either gracefully or spectacularly badly for Deion. I hate it.
I know you do. Everybody does because … I’ve come to really respect and admire him.
Three or four years ago, I mean, we would be starting this conversation about him and ending it about him, as every show on ESPN would be doing the same thing.”
If Colorado does move on from Sanders, three names are starting to surface as logical possibilities.
Dan Mullen is one of them. The UNLV coach has a strong track record from his time at Mississippi State and Florida, and he’s put together a 10-4 season in 2025 before getting UNLV to a 3-2 start this year. The appeal here is pretty clear: Mullen has already proven he can win at a higher level, and Colorado could offer him more resources than he’s working with now, along with the added benefit of having experience out West.
Willie Fritz is another coach in the mix. Houston could be argued as the better job, but the salary gap is hard to ignore: Sanders is making around $10 million per year, while Fritz is at $4.5 million. Fritz has built success at Tulane and now at Houston, and at 66, he fits the profile of someone who could bring immediate stability without requiring a long rebuild.
Jason Eck rounds out the list. The New Mexico coach has been labeled one of the brightest minds in the sport, and his results back that up.
New Mexico is off to a 4-1 start this season after a 9-4 campaign in 2025, and Eck figures to draw plenty of interest if he keeps this rolling. Colorado, if it wants to make a move, may need to act quickly.
In Other News...
Colorado Faces A Huge In-State Recruiting Test At Quarterback
Colorado got an encouraging look at one of its most important future targets over the weekend, with four-star quarterback Titus Huard taking in the Buffaloes game against Texas Tech. The 2027 prospect is already the programs top recruit in that class, and his connection to Colorado runs through his high school coach, Mike Sanford Jr., which gives the staff a natural opening as it works to build a relationship early.
Huard left the visit sounding upbeat about where the program is headed and said he enjoyed spending time with the coaching staff, a good sign for Colorado as it tries to stay in the mix for a quarterback it badly wants to keep close to home. The Buffaloes will have to keep pushing, though, because Oregon and UCLA are also on the list of schools he plans to see as his recruitment unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Home Streak Faces Its Toughest Test Yet Against Baylor
No. 24 Colorado womens soccer heads into an October 8 Big 12 matchup at Prentup Field with a home record that has helped define its season so far. The Buffaloes have been perfect on their own field and will try to keep that run going against a Baylor team ranked No. 7 nationally, giving this one the feel of a measuring-stick night for a Colorado squad looking to keep its place near the top of the conference picture.
Baylor brings its own clean road resume into Boulder, and both programs have players recognized on the MAC Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List, adding even more weight to a matchup already loaded with stakes. For Colorado, the challenge is as much about defending its home turf as it is about proving it can handle one of the Big 12s best in a game that should say plenty about where the Buffaloes stand. [Read more 🡒]
Tad Boyle Is Challenging A Colorado Weakness That Ruined Last Season
Tad Boyle spent the offseason looking hard at what went wrong for Colorado last year, and the answer was not hard to find. The Buffaloes struggled to commit on defense and on the glass, two areas that can sink a season even when the offense is capable of carrying stretches, so the roster was reshaped with those weaknesses in mind. Several forwards moved on in the transfer churn, a sign that Boyle wanted a different kind of edge and a different kind of physicality on this years team.
One of the more intriguing pieces is first-year forward Eric Jacobsen, who is working back from a knee injury and could give Colorado a needed presence if he stays healthy. Boyles attention to Jacobsen underscores how much the Buffaloes are counting on frontcourt help to make the defense-and-rebounding reset real rather than rhetorical. Fans will get a first look soon enough, with limited free tickets now available for an upcoming exhibition game, a small but useful preview of whether the new look is taking hold. [Read more 🡒]