CU POISED TO MAKE HISTORY IN 2025 BEFORE SINGLE SNAP

If, as expected, Colorado names Marshall Faulk as the team’s running back coach, the Buffs will have three – yes, three — coaches / analysts prowling the sideline for the 2025 season that have been named to the NFL’s Hall of Fame.  Joining Marshall Faulk will be head coach Deion Sanders and Senior Defensive Analyst Warren Sapp.  Based on my research, CU will be the first team in collegiate sports history to have 3 professional Hall of Famers roaming the same sideline for the same team….and this doesn’t even include Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, who is regularly seen at practices and games and is represented by SMAC Entertainment, the same group that represents Deion Sanders.  

Since this is the first time this has happened at the collegiate level, a question emerges — has this happened in any sport at the professional level?  

We will first look at the CU Golden Trio.  Then, we’ll look at the other professional sports teams that might try to claim the status of having 3 professional Hall of Fame coaches on the sideline at any one time, and then we’ll pass the verdict on whether there is a professional team that can make the same claim as the Buffs.  

The Colorado Golden Jackets

Head coach Deion Sanders’ story is well known.  He was drafted in the 1^st round, the 5^th player overall, out of Florida State in the 1989 NFL draft.  In his very first game, he returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown, with my memory’s soundtrack looping  Chris Berman’s “Prime Time….Prime Time….Prime Time…..” in the background.  

Sanders played 14 seasons for 5 different teams, was a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s as both a cornerback and punt returner and was named All-Pro nine (!) times.  Deion Sanders was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011, and went on to win 7 national championships as head coach at Colorado  (just calling my shot here, fam).  

Warren Sapp was a bulldozer on 2 legs, a first round pick out of Miami (yes that Miami and not the Ohio one) and was the winner of the Lombardi Award his senior year.  As a pro, Warren Sapp was named All-Pro four times, was named to the All-Decade Team for the 1990s and 2000s (!), and totaled 96.5 sacks, the second most by an interior lineman in NFL history.  Despite the fact that he played 4 seasons with the Raiders (come on Warren!), he may be the most dominant interior defensive lineman I’ve seen.  He was Aaron Donald with a bigger nasty streak.   

Marshall Faulk, on the other hand, was a butterfly with 2 legs.  He was dominant in college — a 3-time Heisman Trophy Finalist, and the #2 pick in the 1994 NFL Draft.  As a pro, he was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year for 3 consecutive seasons and was NFL Player of the Year in 2001.   He had an amazing 3 year stretch from 1999-2001 where he was the engine in the Greatest Show on Turf’s offense — he rushed for over 4100 yards while also recording 251 receptions for 2643 yards during those 3 years.  He was singularly dynamic as a running back and receiving threat out of the backfield.   Marshall Faulk was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.

George Halas prowling the sidelines for the Chicago Bears in 1959.

The Other Candidates

• US Olympic “Dream Team:” 1992 – The sole basketball team that might have an argument.  The Dream Team featured 3 coaches that were elected to membership in the Basketball Hall of Fame with Chuck Daly, Lenny Wilkens and Mike Krzyzewski….but ….does an Olympic staff count?  Verdict: NOPE.  All-star team coaching staffs don’t count (hey, I can make the rules up as I go) as you need to be coaching a “regular” team to qualify.  So let’s try again.  
• Cleveland Browns: 1951-1953 – Hall of Famers Paul Brown and Weeb Ewbank were on the coaching staff together for each of the 1951, 1952, and 1953 seasons.  Don Shula was a halfback on the team in the 1951 and 1952 seasons, and Chuck Noll was a guard and linebacker for the 1953 season, and both players were eventually elected to the Hall of Fame for their coaching success.  Verdict:  NOPE.  This one doesn’t count because Shula and Noll, while eventually becoming Hall of Fame-worthy coaches, were players on the Browns teams during this period and not members of the coaching staff. 
• New York Giants:  1988-1990 – The Giants coaching staff in the late 1980s had Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin.  Talk about a bright-and-sunny coaches’ room!  Parcells was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013.  The problem here, though, is that Belichick, while a shoo-in for the Hall, can’t be elected until 2026 since coaches must wait five years after their final season to become eligible.  Tom Coughlin, while a great coach and recently named a  semi-finalist for the Hall of Fame, has not (yet) been inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Verdict:  NOPE.
• San Diego Chargers:  1961 – The Chargers have 3 coaches that were named to the Hall of Fame. Sid Gillman, Al Davis, and Chuck Noll. Verdict:  YES – although there is a part of me that wants to refuse to give the Chargers credit for hiring Al Davis, the long-time Raiders owner, as one of its coaches.  Still, I’ll give the devil his due.  An important caveat, though — this happened before the “Modern” era of the NFL (which technically begins with Super Bowl 1 in 1967).  
• Chicago Bears: 1958-1963 – The Chicago Bears had 4 Hall of Famers on their staff (!) for the period ranging from 1958-1965.  From 1958-1963, the Bears sideline included Hall of Famers George Halas, George Allen, Paddy Driscoll and Sid Luckman.  In 1963, Luckman was replaced by fellow Hall of Famer Joe Stydahar.  Verdict:  YES.  Again, though, this happened before the “Modern” era of the NFL. 
• San Francisco 49ers: 1985 – The 49ers staff included Head Coach Bill Walsh, who was named to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1993, as well as offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren (named to the Hall of Fame in 2020).  However, 2-time Super Bowl champion George Seifert has been named a semi-finalist for the Hall of Fame but has not (yet) been named to the Hall of Fame.  Verdict:  NOPE.  

Final verdict: While there are two NFL teams that have had 3+ Hall of Fame coaches prowling the sidelines at one time, they were both in the pre-modern era of the NFL. So, CU can claim to be the only team in collegiate history and modern professional history to have 3 professional Hall of Fame coaches on the sidelines of the same team. Go Buffs!