Deion Sanders has never been shy about showing respect where it’s due, and this week, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney was the focus of his admiration.
“He is one of my favorites. I love him to life. I love the man,” Sanders said of Swinney. “He is the coach. He is just a great guy, just a guy that I could look up to, you know, in this coaching realm.”
That admiration goes beyond personal respect. For Sanders, Swinney’s career at Clemson is a blueprint for what a turnaround can look like. He referenced a past season where the Tigers started 1-2 but rebounded to finish 10-2—a scenario he believes could inspire his Buffaloes.
“They’ve been sitting here before, you know, one and two, and they turned it all around,” Sanders continued. “Why not us? Why can’t we turn it around? Why can’t we correct the wrongs with the rights and display consistency?”
A Message to His Team
For Sanders, the shout-out wasn’t just about Swinney—it was about planting belief inside his own locker room. By pointing to Clemson’s proven history of resilience, he framed the Buffs’ current struggles as a test, not a death sentence.
Swinney’s journey, marked by overcoming doubt and early adversity, clearly resonates with Sanders, who is facing his own storm of scrutiny at Colorado. Whether the Buffs can replicate Clemson’s bounce-back remains to be seen, but Sanders has made it clear: he sees a path, and he has a model to follow.