Former Colorado & NFL star shares how he & Rick George convinced Deion Sanders to take over the "worst program in the country"

Deion Sanders has been one of the biggest names in college football for decades. So, it was surprising when he chose to take his talents to Colorado. The Buffaloes were among the worst-run Division I programs in college football, so many were confused about why Sanders took the job.

On Wednesday, former Colorado wide receiver Jeremy Bloom appeared on "The Jim Rome Podcast" and spoke about his role in bringing Sanders to Colorado.

"When the previous coach was let go, I texted Rick George and told him you gotta get Coach Prime because he can bring talent to CU," Bloom said.

It wasn't just going after him, it was how you get to him. I wanted him to take this job seriously, so I reached out to three former all pro players and asked them to text Deion and tell him Colorado is interested and to take it seriously."

Jeremy Bloom gives credit to Rick George for convincing Deion Sanders to come to Colorado

Although Bloom came up with the idea to hire Prime, he credited Rick George for making it possible.

"Rick was able to build a great and deep connection with Coach Prime early on, just with his faith and the culultural tapestry of who he is," Bloom said. "He's an incredible leader, has a very high EQ and can connect with people very well. So, once Deion said, wow you know. Because look, we were the worst program in the country.

So, if the first response from Deion was why would I go there? It snows, it's cold, fill in the blanks for all the reasons he wouldn't engage. But I think because he heard from people he had a high degree of respect for, he took the opportunity seriously. Rick is really the one who deserves all the credit. He's the one who built the respect and rapport with Coach Prime."

The hiring was a good idea because Sanders has turned the program around in just two seasons. The season before his arrival, the Buffaloes went 1-11 and had their sixth straight losing season.

In Sanders' first year, they improved to 4-8. Further, in 2024, they qualified for a bowl game and are having their first winning (8-3) season in over half a decade. His arrival also brought star players Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter to the program.