Deion Sanders has helped bring Colorado back into the national spotlight in his first season at the helm of the program. The Buffaloes won just one game last season, but sit at 4-5 with a chance to do what most thought was impossible before the season — qualify for a bowl game. This comes on the heels of a successful three-year stint at Jackson State where he went 27-6 and made the Celebration Bowl twice.

All of that success — along with Sanders’ NFL Hall of Fame pedigree — has many asking: Would he make the jump to the professional ranks? He addressed speculation about an NFL future in a recent interview on the Dan Patrick Show. 

“No. No. Not whatsoever,” he said. “I don’t think I’m built for the NFL. I appreciate the game so much and I respect the game so much and what the game has consistently done for me for a multitude of years. When I see a guy getting paid millions and millions and millions of dollars and he has no respect for the game and does not want to excel and exceed expectations in the game, I’m going to have a true problem. I’m the kind of coach who would go out there with 53 [players] and come back after halftime with about 32. I can’t do it. I’m too brutally honest and I want to win that much.”

Sanders says he expects to have both his sons — quarterback Shedeur Sanders and defensive back Shilo Sanders — in the program for one more year. There remains the possibility that the elder Sanders’ stance on coaching in the NFL could change once his kids have moved on from Boulder, Colorado, but it’s not something he’s worried about right now. 

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m trying to win a game. I haven’t thought about it. I’m trying to win a game. I’m not thinking down the street that far.”

Colorado will host Arizona on Saturday afternoon at Folsom Field in Boulder.