It's been a long season for more than a few football teams throughout the country, but two of them are about to share a connection.
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started the season with no hype only to get off to a hot start, the Colorado Buffaloes came flying out of the gate to start the college football season. Head coach Deion Sanders took the school from being a middling 'meh' program to a global sensation that was attracting celebrities from all walks of like to games in Boulder.
Since then, things have since gone rather poorly for Sanders and the Buffs. After starting out 3-0, Colorado has lost five straight games on the way to the bottom of the Pac-12. Some of the initial magic around Colorado has worn off, but that hasn’t stopped Sanders from trying to keep building his program by adding flash and flare to his coaching staff.
Deion Sanders hires Buccaneers Hall of Famer to Colorado coaching staff
This season is pretty much a wash for the Buffs, and Deion is already looking ahead to how things can improve next year. Part of that means adding to his coaching staff, which he revealed this week would include the hiring of former Buccaneers legend Warren Sapp.
Coach Prime and the program made the announcement this week, with the intention being Sap joining the staff starting next season.
“I’m excited about Coach Sapp,” Sanders said. “He’s a dear friend that I love to life, and he’s going to be invaluable to what he brings to the table … as far as the recruits as well, they’re going to love him.”
It’s not clear what Sapp’s role will be, but one would have to assume he’ll be helping out the defense. Sapp carved out a Hall of Fame career in Tampa Bay as a centerpiece of the greatest defense this century, and helped win a Super Bowl while putting the Buccaneers on a national map.
Colorado already has that big time spotlight, but the move seems to be one that is potentially huge for the repuation of all involved. The Buffs need to build back and reclaim the respect they demanded earlier this year, and Sapp can start making a triumphant return to football after years of being an analyst and getting into legal trouble away from the game.
Sapp taking the first steps toward potentially working his way up the coaching ladder to one day return ot the NFL is exciting, and it’s going to give Bucs fans an unexpected rooting interest in Colorado next season.