When Deion Sanders took the Colorado Buffaloes head coaching job, there were rumors about many notable coaching names who might join his staff, including former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer. That appears to be confirmed now according to Coach Prime himself.
During an interview on Thee Pregame Show earlier this week, Sanders said Zimmer and former FSU and Oregon head coach Willie Taggart will join his staff in Boulder, though he did not note any particular position or role.
“Taggart’s coming, too, by the way,” Sanders said. “Coach Zimmer’s coming, too, by the way. So another two head coaches. One in the NFL as well as collegiate. But not only that. Forget the titles — they know this game and they know kids and they’ve been capable of making tremendous decisions with the kids and the young men in mind. So that’s what I adore the most — understanding how to establish the relationships with these young men.”
Sanders and Zimmer have a lot of history. Zimmer was Sanders’s position coach while they were with the Dallas Cowboys back in the 90s and remained friends over the years. Before taking over the Vikings, Zimmer was a defensive assistant for the Falcons, Bengals, and Cowboys, winning a Super Bowl as part of Dallas’s staff in 1996. In eight seasons as the Vikings head coach, he went 72-56-1, won three NFC North titles, and took the team to the playoffs three times.
Zimmer was reported to be Sanders’ DC in Boulder back in December but that was later refuted as Alabama’s Charles Kelly was named DC.
Neither Zimmer nor Taggert is currently on the official Colorado staff listing, so it’s unclear what role they’ll be playing this season. Zimmer spent time as a “football analyst” on Sander’s staff at Jackson State.