Deion Sanders announces coaching changes at Colorado

Buffs officially have a new offensive coordinator but the search remains open to replace Charles Kelly

The Colorado Buffaloes are three weeks away from starting to finalize the 2024 football roster with Signing Day. Outside of the players, a few changes have happened since the end of last year with Deion Sanders making some adjustments with his coaching staff. He conducted his first team meeting of the new year on Sunday and we learned what roles have been filled in Boulder via Well Off Media. 

Devin Rispress who recently came over from Florida A&M will take on duties as the assistant director of player personnel and high school relations. He was the director of recruiting for the Rattlers and brings experience to Sanders' staff. Another key piece to keeping the Florida pipeline strong in Boulder.    

Pat Shurmur officially assumes duties as the Buffs offensive coordinator. The former NFL coach took over play-calling duties from Sean Lewis last season and was moved over from being an offensive analyst. He brings experience to the table, but we'll see if there are any changes from the end of season for Shedeur Sanders. Colorado's offense has a couple more weapons, especially on the offensive line, which should allow for the Buffs "Grown" QB to cycle through his reads better with more time in the pocket.

Jason Phillips takes over as CU's wide receiver coach with Brett Bartolone moving over to coach the tight ends. He held a similar position under Coach Prime at Jackson State. Phillips has over 20 years of coaching experience and went to JSU after serving two seasons as the passing game coordinator at Utah State. He'll be reunited with Travis Hunter and others at Colorado.

The biggest question thus far for Sanders during the offseason has been who will be hired as CU's defensive coordinator. He addressed what was going on and the process behind-the-scenes, but did drop a major clue as to who he's looking at. The next man to lead the Buffs defense will likely come from a current NFL team.

"I could easily choose a coordinator for you, but instead of being hasty, I would rather be right," Sanders told the team. "Because you deserve it. You got to understand the NFL (season) is just getting over and there are still some teams in the playoffs. So, not only one, are we trying to get you a pro, but we're trying to get you a professional. Either from college or from the NFL. But we're trying to do it right, because defense you deserve that. And we're going to get it right for you."

A few names have been circulating in regards to CU's defensive coordinator search. Mike Zimmer, Ed Reed, and Rex Ryan are three possibilities for Sanders to consider. They each have NFL experience at different levels with Reed being a Hall-of-Famer. Coach Prime also said the search will probably be concluded within the next week.