“The man is so consistent”: When Warren Sapp backed Deion Sanders to turn around Colorado’s fortunes amid Jason Whitlock’s doubts

Deion Sanders' Colorado program was one of the major topics broadly discussed on “Fearless with Jason Whitlock” in September 2023. Football greats Warren Sapp, Brett Favre and Seth Joyner joined Whitlock on an interesting episode of the show.

Whitlock is known to be a strong critic of Sanders, harping on his antics and approach, and this was widely discussed. The Buffaloes had defeated TCU against the odds in the season opener, but Whitlock contended that Sanders wouldn't succeed in his job at Colorado.

Warren Sapp, a longtime friend of Prime Time, defended him. While Whitlock had made his claim due to Sanders’ unconventional approach in the coaching role in Boulder, Sapp outlined a host of reasons why the former Dallas Cowboys cornerback would succeed.

“The man is so consistent and patient with the young men, and then he surrounds himself with good coaches," Sapp said (Timestamp: 0:45). "It's not just him. If it was just him, I'd be like, ‘Prime, you can't do this all by yourself. You're a Florida boy, and I know we walk around with chips on our shoulders, and think we walk on water, but that's just too much.’

“He's got a great staff with him, and the kids are all in. When he's in front of them talking, it's almost like they're in a trance. And you know how that is when you got a football team on one beat. When you got a football team on one beat, we can do whatever we want to do because we're all rolling in the same direction.”

Jason Whitlock pointed out why he is a critic of Deion Sanders

Jason Whitlock made a point on why he often criticizes Deion Sanders as the show gets more intense. He cited Coach Prime's arrogance, which he believes is a cover for his insecurities, as a major reason for his take on him. Unlike Whitlock, many see Sanders' antics as confidence.

“I think a lot of times incredibly gifted people have flaws that their gifts make up for, but they think their flaws are part of their strength," Whitlock said (Timestamp: 2:54). "And Deion was not the greatest corner to ever play the game, in my opinion, because of his arrogance. … I don't think that's what made him great.

“God gave him some incredible gifts in the womb, and he maximized that and worked hard and did all that, but it's not the arrogance. The arrogance, to me, is a shield or a beard for some insecurity, just to be quite honest.”

Whitlock has continued his criticism of Deion Sanders ever since, pointing out the flaw in many of his moves and decisions at Colorado. Coach Prime got more wins but not a turnaround in his first season in Boulder as he finished with a 4-8 record. However, there was a major improvement in the second season in 2024, which ended with a 9-4 record.