The meteoric rise of Deion Sanders as head coach at the University of Colorado has been nothing short of transformative, turning the Buffaloes into a national football powerhouse in just a few seasons. However, this success has also brought unwanted attention, including credible threats to Sanders' safety, as revealed in the latest season of the "Coach Prime" docuseries on Prime Video.
Michael Rhodes, Sanders' personal security officer, detailed the precautions taken to protect the coach, highlighting the volume of hate mail and death threats received. Rhodes, a former member of Jackson State’s campus police, joined Sanders' security detail during his time at Jackson State and continued in this role after the move to Colorado.
The docuseries reveals a specific incident before a September 14th game against Colorado State where "multiple threats" were made against Sanders. Rhodes describes the situation as involving two individuals potentially planning to harm the coach, prompting a significant security response including SWAT, CSUPD, and Boulder PD.
Rhodes emphasizes the constant vigilance required to ensure Sanders' safety, stating, "Everybody doesn’t love Coach. With all of the death threats, I don’t know who is who. I’ve got one job, and that’s to make sure that Coach is good, to make sure he’s safe, so that he can go out and coach the team to a victory."
Despite these challenges, Colorado's 2024 season saw remarkable achievements, including their first bowl game appearance since 2020, consecutive sell-out home games, and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. Both Hunter and Shedeur Sanders are projected as first-round picks in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
