Warren Sapp had an illustrious career playing for Tampa Bay in the NFL. Super Bowl winner, first-team All-Pros, and a defensive tackle who made O-lines tremble with fear. That wasn’t just at Tampa. Go to the history section of the Miami Hurricanes’ official website. You’ll find a portion called ‘Sapp Era.’ Post-retirement, it took Sapp some time to find his calling.
Warren Sapp’s NFL career came to an end in 2007 after four seasons with the Raiders. Despite numerous opportunities and offers, the NFL legend chose not to pursue a coaching career, which is a common path for retired players. Although he remained active in the media as an analyst for the NFL Network and participated in podcasts, such as one with Brian Jones in 2020, coaching was not on his radar. However, a fishing trip and a meeting with Deion Sanders changed his perspective.
The Colorado pass-rush coordinator talks about how he woke up early to go fishing with Deion Sanders at his sprawling “personal” lake down in Florida. “He has a lovely spot out there, and I’ve been there. I just kept telling him I was going to come and go fish with him. So I finally had an autograph session out there with him, and he was coming to the autograph session too. So I told him I told the guys who were getting him there. ‘Make sure I don’t miss him.’”
Sapp arrived quite early at “6-7” in the morning, as he says, and met Deion Sanders there. The now-Colorado head coach at Jackson State at the time insisted that Sapp come to his college to coach. But Sapp?
Well, Sapp didn’t want to go to Mississippi. “No, I’m not coming to Mississippi.” But still, that moment ignited an idea in his mind as he enrolled at Miami and started getting a degree to start his coaching career, as he called the process “nothing extravagant.”
“I went back to school, got my got my paperwork, and by this time, he (Deion Sanders) was in Colorado at this point. And he called me and said, ‘I just want you to come visit with my D-line.’ And I’m like, ‘All right.’ That ‘all right’ finally sealed the deal as he made his move to Colorado, where Deion was getting ready to produce a Heisman winner. The rest?
Sapp earned a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Sports Management and finally made his move to Colorado, where he was initially hired as a graduate assistant in 2024. The season? Well, the Buffs finished their season 9-4, the first time since 2016, and had Travis Hunter win the Heisman after his incredible season.
But this wasn’t it. Sapp, now promoted to pass rush coordinator, brought 13 years of NFL experience and will now help tackles like Tavian Coleman, Amari McNeill, and Tawfiq Thomas reach their potential.
Warren Sapp opens up on Deion Sanders being a ‘father’ figure
We all know how the Colorado program has seen a recent surge in popularity after the arrival of Deion Sanders. Not only was his on-field turnaround of the program, after the program finished 1-11 in 2022, incredible. But Coach Prime brought a different mindset to the program, something other coaches weren’t doing too much. Warren Sapp explains how Deion Sanders and he have approached player management and dealt with the intense pressure and demand.
“I promise you something about Deion. We are dads first. So when you a dad first, you understand that each one of your children are distinctly individualized and different from each other, just like each player that you will encounter. So you can’t cookie-cut them. So you’ve got to be able to touch them in a very personal way. And I think we do a very good job of that. So that’s the one thing that you know intense is about, cuz you got to work.”
Well, we have seen Deion Sanders repeatedly emerge as a father figure for his players. Last year, we saw Coach Prime standing with Jimmy Horn Jr. as his dad was incarcerated on drug-related charges. Heck, the head coach even appealed to the judge to show mercy, as Jimmy Horn Jr. said that Coach Prime acted as a “father figure” for him at the time. This is exactly the approach Deion Sanders takes with every player, and the result? Well, the Heisman was just a start. How about a playoff spot now?
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