This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners! I hope you’re well. Thanks so much for reading TMW this morning. Let’s talk a bit about Colorado. Yes, again. Well, kind of.
More specifically, I think we need to have a quick conversation about Deion Sanders and his future at the school. Undoubtedly, the transformation he’s created at Colorado has caught a ton of eyes.
For good reason. The school has tripled its win total from last year so far through just three games. There’s a reason why the Colorado-Colorado State game drew 9.3 million viewers on a Saturday night.
That quick turnaround has already caught the eyes of some folks in the NFL, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe.
Howe polled 10 NFL team decision-makers to get a feel for what the league thought of Sanders and if he could be a candidate to coach on the next level. Seven of them said Sanders would likely receive interview requests this offseason from NFL teams.
That’s supposed to be a non-story, of course, because Sanders has said himself that he’s not making the jump to the NFL. He’s shut it down essentially every time he’s been asked about it.
On The Rich Eisen Show, Sanders told Eisen “I would never do that,” when he asked him about making the jump to the NFL. Essentially, he said he’d have a hard time motivating the players because of how much they get paid.
ESPN’s First Take also asked Sanders about it in a roundabout way. Here was his answer.
"I am where I'm supposed to be. … All you recruits out there, baby you know I ain't hard to find."
😎 @DeionSanders | @CUBuffsFootball pic.twitter.com/kzum1RscNH
— First Take (@FirstTake) September 15, 2023
“I am where I’m supposed to be. God has called me right to this place, to this time, to this era, to this state, to this city. I’m in my zone. Like, I’m in my thing. I’ve got my rhythm … I’m in my purpose and I absolutely love it.”
That sounds like somebody who has a deep commitment to where he is right now. Those are words that should absolutely bring comfort to the Colorado faithful.
Sorry, but I’m here to tell you not to get so comfortable.
I hate to be a bit of a Debbie Downer here, but I think we’ve heard those words before. Three years ago when Sanders first arrived at Jackson State University, he said his arrival was “a God move” and that “God brought him to Jackson State” just like God called him to Colorado.
He seemed to be just as deeply committed to that school and his grander mission of rebuilding the football program out at the legendary HBCU the same way he says he’s committed to Colorado now. And we saw how that ended up.
Look, I’m not saying Sanders is wrong for taking this Colorado job. I have my thoughts, but this isn’t necessarily the time to parse through them.
Let’s be honest about this. It wasn’t God that called him — it was money. Or “opportunity,” as Sanders likes to put it. Colorado reportedly offered him a $29.5 million deal to coach there. That’s why he left. It’s plain and simple.
That’s exactly why, if the NFL comes calling with a grander opportunity, you can best believe Sanders will take it. Whether he’s done with the Buffaloes or not.
The Broken Bears
The Chicago Bears season is off to a riveting start.
We’ve already got Justin Fields out in public complaining about his coaches and playcalling for his awful play so far. That’s never a good look coming from a young quarterback.
On top of that, though, we’ve got defensive coordinator Alan Williams who tendered his resignation effective immediately on Wednesday citing health reasons. First things first — I hope Williams is OK. Health scares are no joke. It’s a good thing that he’s taking his time and figuring out whatever is going on with him.
But for the Bears, that’s certainly yet another setback. One that can’t be helped, of course, but a setback nonetheless.
This was a team that had aspirations of winning a seemingly wide-open NFC North. So far, Chicago has looked like anything but division winners this season. There’s still time to turn things around — the season is only two weeks old. But the Bears have a lot of work to do with this one.
The WNBA Semifinals are set
The Connecticut Sun handily took care of the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday night. And, with that, we’ve got our final four in the WNBA.
— Las Vegas Aces vs. Dallas Wings (September 24, 5 p.m. ET)
— New York Liberty vs. Connecticut Sun (September 24, 1 p.m. ET)
Remember, the format for the playoffs shifts from a best-of-three series to a best-of-five series in the WNBA after the first round. So these teams will need to win three of five games to advance to the finals.
The Sun-Liberty matchup is an intriguing one. Alyssa Thomas probably won’t win the league’s MVP, but she certainly played like one all year. And even on a court with all of the Liberty’s stars, she can be the best player on it for multiple nights in that series. DeWanna Bonner is an incredible mismatch with her size and shooting, too.
This is going to be an awesome matchup. You don’t want to miss it.
Quick hits: The Rhode Island Scumbag’s lock of the YEAR … Picks against the spread for an epic CFB weekend … and more
— The Rhode Island Scumbag is back with the best bets of week 3 in the NFL plus the LOCK OF THE YEAR. Check Christian D’Andrea out here.
— Blake Schuster has you covered on the best college football picks against the spread for Week 4.
— This fly ball from David Peralta almost ended this bird. Here’s more from Charles Curtis.
— Our Meghan Hall got a chance to chat with Bo Nix about a number of things, including making some cool cleats for a good cause. You need to peep this one.
— Robert Zeglinksi has you covered on the top-5 head coaching candidates so far in the NFL. No, it’s never too early for this.
— Taylor Swift seems amused by Travis Kelce’s desperation for a date. Me, too, Taylor. Me, too.
That’s all, folks! Thanks for reading. Happy Thursday. Let’s chat again tomorrow.