Deion Sanders tells Colorado fans his coaching plans for when kids go to NFL

Deion Sanders assured Colorado football fans that he doesn't plan to leave their college football program for the NFL next year when his son Shedeur Sanders enters the draft.

Buffaloes enthusiasts have naturally wondered whether Deion Sanders would use Boulder as a stepping stone in his coaching career, particularly with the school joining the Big 12 Conference, which on paper will have fewer national powerhouses than the broken-up Pac-12.

His future is also the subject of questions from recruits and potential transfer portal arrivals, who want to feel they're joining a sustainable football project.

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"I tell them the truth," Sanders said via ESPN . "I tell them I'm a father, not a baby daddy. I don't follow my kids. I pave roads for my kids. I build generational wealth for my kids. I lead my kids. I don't follow my kids. So I do not plan on following my kids to the NFL. I have work to do here.

"I absolutely love it here, and I would never think a young brother from the South would really love it in this part of the country but I really do. ... The fan base that we have here ... I just want to really bless you with a tremendously successful team. I really do. That's my heart."

Colorado's experienced another offseason of roster turnover, with an array of new faces agreeing to play under Deion Sanders and more than 40 players leaving. Crucially, Shedeur Sanders will be back under center orchestrating a high-powered offense, while two-way phenom Travis Hunter should contribute on both sides of the ball. Meanwhile, another one of Deion Sanders' kids, Shilo Sanders, is expected to start at safety for the Buffaloes in 2024.

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Last year was a mixed bag for Colorado. The team started red-hot, defeating a ranked TCU squad on the road to enter the top 25. Then, after rising as high as No. 19 in the nation, the Buffaloes lost eight of their final nine games, including an epic collapse at home against Stanford.

So, what's the vibe this spring? Deion Sanders claimed that despite the personnel changes, there's positivity he can built on.

"The progress that we've made is it's another caliber player that's playing, a player that truly expects to go to the next level, meaning the NFL," Sanders said. "These young men want to practice. They want to have each other's back. They want the physicality. They want all the smoke, so to speak.

"I love what we're building in this locker room, and if you're not a part of that thought process or that desire, you don't fit. So now you see the gallop to the portal, you see that, but even with those guys, I wish them the best."