Emmanuel Acho criticizes Deion Sanders’ coaching amid colorado’s struggles

As the Colorado Buffaloes limp toward the finish line of the 2025 college football season, frustration has mounted with the program.

With only one conference win and a string of blowout losses, questions have resurfaced about whether Deion Sanders’ leadership can steer Colorado back to national relevance?

While Colorado athletic director Rick George publicly reaffirmed his “100% support” for Sanders on social media last week, FOX Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho offered his assessment of what's happening in Boulder. While appearing on the Speakeasy podcast, Acho said that Colorado “hasn’t been a well-coached football team” under Sanders.

“Colorado hasn’t been a well-coached football team under Deion Sanders,” Acho said. “They’ve been an incredibly exciting football team. Shedeur Sanders went crazy. Travis Hunter went crazy. (Jimmy) Horn went crazy. Shout out to Deion Sanders for recruiting those players and luring them to Colorado. Shout out to him for creating the most exciting program in the country. But as far as a well-coached football team, Colorado hasn’t been that.”

Deion Sanders made Colorado exciting, not elite. Hype ain’t coaching. 💯🔥 Agree or nah? pic.twitter.com/7C2dFjwNrL

Acho’s remarks are what many around the sport have observed. Despite the star power and viral moments, Colorado’s on-field product has been inconsistent, marked by poor offensive execution and defensive collapses. 

The Buffaloes have allowed over 134 points in their last three games combined and have cycled through three quarterbacks twice this season, with five-star freshman Julian Lewis expected to start down the stretch.

Sanders’ health has also complicated matters. The coach spent much of the offseason at his Texas home recovering from bladder cancer surgery, limiting his ability to oversee day-to-day responsibilities. The result has been a team lacking direction, even after the midseason demotion of offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur failed to spark improvement.

It’s a sharp contrast from two years ago, when Sanders and Colorado were the talk of college football after a 3-0 start in 2023. Bowl eligibility is now off the table, and the program has been reduced to a bottom end Big 12 team. 

With athletic director Rick George expected to retire in June and an unprecedented coaching carousel coming, Colorado’s leadership faces a critical decision. Either double down on Sanders’ long-term vision or take advantage of a deep talent pool of available coaches. For now, at least publicly, the Buffaloes appear committed to staying the course.

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