As recruiting falls apart, could Coach Prime leave Colorado? Intriguing option emerges

Deion Sanders was supposed to flip Colorado's roster and bring the Buffaloes back to national relevance, but Coach Prime experienced some speed bumps along the way in 2023.

After starting the season a promising 3-0, the Buffaloes lost eight of their last nine games to finish the season 4-8.

It became abundantly clear that Sanders and Colorado have a lot more work to do...but will he stick around to do it?

The Buffaloes' upcoming recruiting classes are in disarray at the moment with three decommitments since Colorado ended their season with a loss to Utah on Saturday.

Four-star quarterback Antwann Hill Jr, a class of 2025 prospect, announced his decommitment on Sunday. Monday brought two more decommits in the form of three-star quarterback Danny O'Neill, an Elite 11 invitee, and three-star running back Jamarice Wilder. Earlier in November, three-star offensive lineman Talan Chandler backed off his pledge.

Colorado's 2024 recruiting class now ranks 65th overall with just nine pledges. They did pick up a marquee commitment from four-star athlete Kamron Mikell on Nov. 23, but the class needs more reinforcements with the early signing period coming up quickly.

Coach Prime linked to Houston opening: Would Deion Sanders leave Colorado?

Which brings us to a link between Sanders and the newly-open Houston job. As pointed out by our friends over at Glory Colorado, Chris Vannini of The Athletic thinks Coach Prime would be a "good fit" in Houston. That's broadly based on "conversations with industry sources."

"The word is that one reason Sanders wanted Colorado to rejoin the Big 12 was to get back into Texas for recruiting. Sanders, who still lives in Texas when he’s not coaching, improved Colorado to 4-8 this year, though the Buffs lost eight of their last nine games."

Taking over at Houston would let Sanders live in Texas full-time. He could recruit from in-state while using the NIL power available to the Cougars. If he feels like he's bitten off more than he could chew in Boulder, it's a potential offramp.

The link is certainly interesting, but it's also likely to go nowhere. Sanders chose Colorado because he saw a program he could build back into a contender. Leaving after just one season would set him back to square one. He's already gone through the most extreme aspects of flipping a roster. Scrapping the whole project so quickly just to take on a similar endeavor seems ludicrous.

Sanders isn't afraid to go against the grain though. So it's something to keep an eye on.