Ex-Colorado star rips Deion Sanders: ‘A lot of flash… no substance’

• Former Colorado tight end Christian Fauria criticized coach Deion Sanders on a recent podcast.
• Fauria said Sanders isn’t ‘very bright’ and said he has ‘brainwashed’ supporters.
• Fauria’s son, Caleb, transferred from Colorado after Sanders was hired.

Two-time Super Bowl champion and former Colorado tight end Christian Fauria lambasted coach Deion Sanders for how he’s run the football program at Colorado, saying he’s not “very bright” and that “brainwashed” people support him “regardless of how stupid he is sometimes.”

Fauria, 54, made these comments this week when asked about Sanders on “The Zach Gelb Show.” Fauria played at Colorado from 1990 to 1994 under coach Bill McCartney before moving on to the NFL, where he won two Super Bowls as a member of the New England Patriots. Fauria’s son Caleb also was on theColoradoteam when Sanders was hired in December 2022 but then transferred to Delaware for the 2024 season.

“I’m just not a fan of the coach,” Fauria said on the podcast. “I’m not. I’ll never be a fan of the coach. I love the school. And this isn’t me picking on Deion Sanders, because I pick on (former NFL coach) Joe Gibbs. The worst coach I’ve ever had was Joe Gibbs (with the Washington NFL team), so me picking on Deion Sanders is nothing. I just don’t like the way he coaches football. I don’t think he’s very bright. I don’t think he can manage a game. I think there’s a lot of flash, but I think there’s no substance, you know. And he’s got a lot of people, like, brainwashed.”

Christian Fauria explains his issues with Deion Sanders

Fauria alluded to some issues other former Colorado players have had with Sanders, whose three-year record in Boulder is 16-21, including 3-9 in 2025. Some have been skeptical about how he flips the roster over every year with transfer players from other colleges, questioning how that builds a winning team culture, especially when they don’t learn the Colorado fight song. Sanders’ clock management also has been a sore subject among Colorado fans and alumni.

“Not a fan of his coaching style, not a fan of his messaging,” Fauria said. “There’s a lot of things internally that I know about that I’m not a fan of. And it’s just not worth my energy to sit there and follow it and then go back and forth with the emperor-has-no-clothes crowd that support him regardless of how stupid he is sometimes. So, yeah, that’s the way I feel about it, and it bugs me that a lot of alumni don’t just speak up about it.”

Gelb then asked Fauria about the notion Sanders at least has made Colorado “relevant” again after many years of futility before his arrival, including a 1-11 season in 2022. Colorado went 9-4 under Sanders in 2024 while winning a Heisman Trophy with two-way star Travis Hunter.

Fauria said he understands it’s “hard to win at Colorado” and that it takes a “special person” to do so, such as McCartney, who won a national championship there in 1990. Fauria said he backed Sanders initially and was “all for it.”

“But as time went on, I was just like, wait, none of this makes any sense,” Fauria said. “I’m like, ‘How long are they gonna to put up with this?’ And what else are we going to do? So if relevancy and having a sold-out crowd, having people talk about you on Twitter, if that’s what you want, well then congratulations. You’ve achieved it.”

‘Learn the fight song,’ former Colorado tight end says

Fauria outlined some things he’d like to see in Sanders’ program.

“Win games,” he said. “The way you win games. The way you recruit. Know everybody’s name. Give everybody the same attention. Sing the fight song. Learn the fight song. I would say then you’ve got business.”

Fauria closed the interview by making himself perfectly clear. He didn’t immediately return a message from USA TODAY Sports on whether he’d like to clarify any of these remarks.

“I’m not a fan,” he said on the podcast. “And I can really care less if anybody likes it or not. My give-a-(expletive) level is zero right now with people caring about my opinion of Deion Sanders.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com