“Dad, I’m so sorry.” I could barely hear my daughter through her sobs.
“What’s up, babe?”
She was gasping for air. “I’m so sorry I’m so sorry.” After she caught her breath, the words came. “I wrecked my car.”
The first instinct after a car crash like the CU vs. Utah game is to want to tear it all down. I’m sure that is what many CU analysts are doing today. CU message boards and social media are filled with fans screaming into the existential void about certain players and asking why certain coaches were allowed back onto the plane to return to Boulder after the game. There will be more time for those discussions. But right now, let’s step back and hit the brakes momentarily.
My daughter got a brand new Crosstrek for her 16th birthday. It wasn’t our best parenting decision, but her brother got a car when he was 16 and do you love him more than me? She thought the new car was beautiful – it was navy blue with a small amount of gold trim that reminded her of Deion’s Blenders sunglasses — and it was fire, as she said, and you know, we’ll do anything for our daughter. She drove it to school and back.
She was careful not to speed in our neighborhood. Our neighbors like to complain about kids driving too fast down our 20 mph country road – “these kids are driving 30 mph and it’s extremely dangerous and they need to slow down” – and our daughter is nothing if not impressionable. She hit the cruise control button on the new car at 20 mph because she thought it would keep the car from going over 20 mph. Instead, it set the car to stay at 20 mph. She took her foot off the gas, the car continued at speed, she panicked and WHAM!
She ran the car right into a retaining wall.
After Utah’s first touchdown of the game, a 63-yard run by backup true freshman quarterback Byrd Ficklin, I sighed. After Utah’s second touchdown of the game, a 58-yard run by Wayshawn Parker, I groaned. When Kaidon Salter dropped back and took the safety to put CU down 19-0 at the start of the second quarter, I laughed. Life as a CU fan can be harsh. At halftime, down 43-0, with Utah running up 398 yards of offense and CU running down -18 yards of offense, I knew what was happening.
CU was running head-first into a retaining wall.
The good news is my daughter was okay. Shaken up, and embarrassed, and angry that her new car was totaled, but okay. After a couple of months of her mom and I driving her to school and soccer practice and basketball practice, we realized that life might be easier if we got her a car. But this time, we weren’t going to get her a fancy new car. Instead, she needed a different kind of car – something a little older and tougher. A car that could handle some bumps along the way. We bought her an old beat up Outback. A veteran of many winters, full of scratches and quirks, but dependable. Not sexy. No seat warmers on this car. But it’s steady. And it’s exactly what she needed to continue to learn to drive the right way.
And that’s where Colorado football is right now.
After the Utah game – a full-on collision with reality – it’s clear that CU doesn’t need another sleek uniform combination or viral marketing slogan. The Buffs don’t need more flash. They need stability.
Right now, the staff is built almost entirely around Deion Sanders and his proteges. There are no coaches at CU that have been collegiate coordinators or head coaches outside of a Deion Sanders-coached team. In fact, the only lead assistant coaches on CU’s staff that have coached collegiate football for anyone other than Deion Sanders are George Helow, Jason Phillips and Pat Shurmur. This is a staff with barely any collegiate football coaching experience outside of the Deion Sanders Experience.
The Buffs need veteran assistant coaches that have won at the collegiate level.
In some ways, the program’s lack of collegiate coaching experience is analogous to a 16-year-old driving a fancy new car. You don’t know what you don’t know, so you set the car’s cruise control and WHAM! run the car right into a retaining wall.
I want Deion Sanders to be successful at Colorado. He brings so many positive things to Boulder. He brings eyeballs to our university, dollars into the community, and a more diverse fanbase and student body. He deserves credit for giving opportunities to coaches that maybe wouldn’t have received an opportunity to coach at a Power 4 school. He hired Vincent Dancy from Mississippi Valley State, and Andre Hart and Michael Pollock and George Hegamin from the high school ranks, and more. He gives opportunities to those that have been overlooked or not given their chance.
Deion is a walking advertisement for CU, as his face is plastered on televisions and computer screens around the world. Applications and minority enrollment are way up, in large part thanks to Deion Sanders’ status. The “Coach Prime Effect” contributed an estimated $146.5 million in total regional economic impact last year. Deion Sanders is good for Colorado.
But sometimes you need a car crash to realize that things need to change. CU needs coaches on staff that understand how to relate to, and how to scheme for, 18-23 year old young men that are balancing girl drama and schoolwork with football. CU needs coaches that understand clock management, that can help Deion with situational awareness, and that can make in-game adjustments. Now it’s the time for the Buffs to realize that car crashes don’t have to define you. They can reset you.
You just have to make the right decision about what you drive next.
For more in the BuffsBlog blogoshere, check out this story on CU hoops:
I’m angry after Utah, but there might be wisdom in taking things slower. Thanks for the perspective, even if I don’t necessarily agree as I’m inclined to burn it all down.
I remember the Massacre in Lincoln in 1992. CU was ranked and had a 3 year streak of not losing to Nebaraska for 3 years. CU got crushed 52-7 that day. Days happen like this is sports. 2 weeks ago we beat a ranked ISU team. Georgia Tech and BYU are both top ten and we had our chances. Beat UofA and West Virginia and go into the last 2 games of the season needing a win against either ASU or KSU.
I like this perspective – thanks for sharing Dave.
Thanks Clare!
Thanks Erich!
I like your analogy, but the difference is that, in this situation, the kid is the one making the decisions and has been the one that has created and fostered the culture of the flash, individual spot light, etc. He was successful doing that himself because of his ability (matched with his hard work) but that doesn’t translate to non-HOF talent. Look at the players that he constantly has around the program . . . they are individual spot-light players (TO, Irvin, Moss, etc.) None are bad guys, but they have amazing talent and were oftentimes more of the story than their teams. These are the types of players that Prime identifies with since they seem to match his mindset matched with ability.
Also, looking at Prime’s career, he was the “mercenary” before it became a thing. He moved from team to team that were just missing that final piece and were mature and he could just do his thing (Dallas – The Triplets, strong D; SF – Young, Rice, Waters, TO, strong D; Ravens – Stacked on D; and Ravens – Ray Lewis, Christ McCallister, Ed Reed, Bart Scott, Suggs, etc. He was never part of a team that had to be built from the ground up by draft, good GM work, etc. The teams he joined went through all of that before he got there and he stepped into stability, for the most part.
I genuinely believe that Prime is a good man that thinks he knows what he is doing. Unfortunately, he has never built a program before (and I don’t count HS or two years at JSU with Shedeur and Travis because they overcame coaching deficiencies v the HBSU teams because he had a bit more talent -he never won the conference championship there.) He is selecting some staff and players with the same mindset that he experienced . . . not a build but try to get flashy names that had great careers but no legit coaching experience. Go with guys he knows and have been with him, even if not qualified or proven as coaches.
Can he right the ship? I have my doubts at this point. He would need to make a complete philosophical change to his staff; recruiting; game management, etc. With his health challenges and his kids no longer playing for him, I don’t know that he will even be capable (or want to) after the challenges that lay ahead. I hope he can get things fixed, because we will lose all the good pub and $$$ going forward if he can’t and/or he leaves and we don’t get a homerun hire.
Some interesting thoughts here, particularly the idea that Deion was a bit of a “mercenary” in his pro career. I hadn’t thought about that before. Anyway, thanks for sharing your perspective!
Good one, John. Great lessons, keep up the great writing.👏👏
Spot on….I hope Deion can see the forest through the trees and surround himself with a capable coaching staff. Never been a fan of Shurmur…need to put these kids in a position to succeed. This offense is not a good fit for Salter’s strengths…not a good fit for college football in general. It starts there and position coaches need a long hard look. Let’s hope Deion makes the changes before he goes down with the ship. We all know he can shop for the goods.
Sorry about the Crosstrek, but happy to hear everyone is okay!
It was a learning experience!
The coaching staff is a joke. Just because they all succeed at a high level professionally does not mean they can transition into a completely different profession. The results are obvious at this point.
When you build through the portal and not from the foundation the results are predictable. There are no shortcuts in life.
Also, if the Buffs are to be reincarnated after a car crash, they need to come back as an 80’s Oldsmobile. Those things are indestructible.
With wood paneling on the sides.