Deion Sanders defends criticism of Colorado offense and demotion of OC Sean Lewis
Coach Prime sets a record with his staff transfer.
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders took a new tone in Saturday night’s 26-19 loss to Oregon State, Buffaloesand#039; Fifth loss in six games after 3-0 start. He took the blame for Colorado’s struggles on offense after trading Sean Lewis for co-offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, but defended his decision in light of the criticism that followed.
“I don’t reveal all my thoughts, man. I don’t reveal when I decide to do something and quot,” Sanders said. andquot;Just know that I will make a decision and I will not stammer or stumble over it or look back. You don’t know all its intangibles, but you all look at the crib from the outside in. I blacked out windows and you can’t even see inside the house, but you jump to conclusions about what I should or shouldn’t do.”
Sanders relinquished his playing duties to Lewis after last month’s 28-16 loss to UCLA, but did not classify the decision as a “demotion.” Instead, Sanders said it was a necessary “movement” in his coaching duties.
Shurmur measured the field from the coach’s box and broadcast plays to Lewis, who was on the sideline to get the calls in. “We’re not disrespecting Sean Lewis, sir. We’re not going to take that tone,” Sanders said. “Sean’s a good guy. I think he’s a good player. We just needed a change at the time.” At that time, we had to change something else. and that’s what we did. I don’t look back on it. I don’t doubt myself at all. There is more to it than you may know. Let’s just trust the process. Latvian#039; just trust the process. We are in no way disrespecting any of the coaches in this lineup. I won’t go down like that.andquot;
In his first game at OC, Shurmur had 238 rushing yards and two touchdowns, 150 of which came in Colorado’s final two quarters.
When you factor in Shedeur Sanders’ four sacks, the Buffaloes struggled with balance and finished with negative yards against the Beavers. Colorado’s first 10 possessions totaled 78 yards and a score.
“It’s not really a big change,” Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders said. “We’re all in this together.”
At 4-5 overall, the Buffaloes need to win two of their last three games to reach a bowl. They host red-hot Arizona (6-3) this weekend before traveling to Washington State and Utah in the final two weeks of the regular season.
