“They Call Me Coach”: Deion Sanders Instantly Calls Out Student Who Addressed Him by His Name

A lucky pair of students managed to happen upon a gridiron legend on Colorado’s campus earlier this week. While sitting on a park bench enjoying the weather and conversation, the two men just so happened to look up and see NFL Hall of Famer and head coach of their school’s football program, Deion Sanders, casually walking their way.

“Deion Sanders?” one of them asked in surprise. “How you doing, Deion?” The other followed. The former Atlanta Falcon jokingly corrected the two of them, stating, “They call me coach around here,” before giving him a fist bump and continuing on his way.

The program wasn’t quite as productive as many had hoped it to be following the exits of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, but given the amount of adversity that he was dealt throughout all of 2025, it’s still worth considering the calendar year as a successful one for Coach Prime. The 58-year-old underwent bladder surgery last summer after doctors discovered a tumor, which kept the head coach away from his program for a good chunk of the offseason.

Thankfully, Sanders was ultimately deemed to be cancer-free after successfully receiving a new bladder. It’s been a difficult transition at times, and the incident has even forced him to rethink his lifestyle and dietary choices, but there’s still no denying that he’s content with the decision that he made to temporarily step away from his team in order to ensure that he’s able to stick around for as long as possible, and not just for his players, but for his family as well.

Throw in the fact that he also became one of the highest-paid head coaches in all of college football by signing an $8.9-million contract in March of 2025, which also came just prior to him seeing both of his sons become official members of the National Football League, and it seems fair to say that, despite his temporary health issues, Sanders still had a pretty good year.

Nevertheless, feel good stories don’t put wins on the record sheet, so if Sanders hopes to get the Buffaloes back into the national rankings, then he’ll have to do a better job when it comes to landing recruits. The lack of four- and five-star talent was painfully noticeable in Colorado this past season, suggesting that the sudden increase in popularity for the program has yet to translate into anything meaningful.

Then again, roster construction doesn’t seem anywhere near as trying when you’ve overcome cancer, so the college football analysts should probably caution themselves when it comes to writing off the Buffaloes prior to the completion of the 2026 season.