Deion Sanders Responds to Oregon Football Coach Dan Lanning's 'Clicks' Speech

After Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning said Colorado was playing for clicks, Colorado Head Coach Deion Sanders responded in an interview on the Full Send Podcast.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders, left, and Oregon's Dan Lanning meet at midfield after their game in Eugene / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA

EUGENE - Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was the talk of college football last season, and for good reason. Sanders was more aggressive on social media and in the transfer portal than any coach had been before.

This also involved an emphasis of name, image, and likeness for his players, as well as the infamous ‘bringing my luggage’ approach wherein Sanders brought his sons and numerous top players from his prior coaching stop at Division II power Jackson State.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders, left, and Oregon's Dan Lanning meet at midfield after their game in Eugene / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA

After winning their first three games to open the 2023 season, social media and talk shows alike were set ablaze with Colorado content as this hot start was completely unexpected. Sanders fed into this by making bold statements in press conferences and interviews as well as packing Colorado’s sidelines with celebrities including Lil Wayne, Offset, Terrell Owens, Shannon Sharpe, and Dwayne Johnson.

The hype train came screeching to a halt after the Buffaloes were dismantled by Oregon at Autzen Stadium to the tune of a 42-6 final score. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning was clipped in a pregame locker room speech, saying “They’re playing for clicks, we’re playing for wins.”

This became a popular moniker for Colorado detractors who saw all of this hype around the program as overblown and premature.

Sanders addressed the ‘clicks’ controversy with Oregon in a recent interview on the Full Send podcast. “It’s funny how you say that, but the camera was on you when you say that,” said Sanders. “So who is playing for the click?”

Oregon fans will point to the fact that this was the only time Lanning ever allowed cameras and microphones in the pre-game locker room and thus doesn’t really constitute playing for clicks the same way Colorado did over the course of the season.

“Did you hear any other speech that he made during the whole season?” asked Sanders. “Who is playing for the click? This is really what I do.”

Supporters of the Ducks will be happy to see that Sanders fed into this exact point in his own words and may resent not being able to play Colorado again as the two schools diverge into the Big Ten Conference and Big 12 Conference, respectively.

While it’s admirable that Sanders wants his players to profit off their notoriety by bringing attention to his program, but it seems the hype train may be doing more harm than good.