Coach Prime : Deion Sanders and the Making of Men

An exclusive insider account with unprecedented access to Deion Sanders, his staff, and players, who are changing the culture of college football.

"A highly readable portrait of one of the most exciting coaches in college football." – San Deigo Union-Tribune

"You won't find a more competitive person than Coach Prime. At Jackson State, he wanted to dominate and win.... Nothing has changed but the address. He wants to dominate and win a national championship at Colorado." (from Coach Prime)

Known for decades as one of the NFL’s most iconic and spectacular playmakers, Deion Sanders remains college football's most intriguing newsmaker. In just three years, he has become the most talked about coach by recruiting elite players to moribund programs and reviving the spirit and pride of forgotten fanbases by winning. Along the way, he’s changing how we think about college sports while rejuvenating whole communities with the national attention that follows him and the fresh commerce a winning culture ignites.

First at Jackson State and now at Colorado, Sanders has displayed a knack for leading miraculous turnarounds of once-storied-but-long-irrelevant programs. Television cameras turn up for national broadcasts, gameday attendance skyrockets, economic impact reaches the tens of millions, and NFL scouts take renewed interest.

Meanwhile, off the field, Sanders displays an uncanny ability to connect with his players. Weekly chat sessions about life and love are the norm. His unyielding commitment to guiding his players to become exceptional men raises the bar on what parents and athletes expect from college coaches.

Now, with access no other reporter has been granted, veteran sports journalist Jean-Jacques Taylor takes readers inside one season with Deion Sanders to show the heart, mind, and culture of America's most innovative football coach and his team of would-be champions.

Go behind the headlines and inside the locker room to discover the real Coach Prime:

• A Masterclass in Leadership: Follow Coach Prime’s uncompromising methods as he revives moribund programs and challenges the status quo of college sports through sheer force of will.
• The Heart of HBCU Football: Witness the rejuvenation of Jackson State, a storied program, and understand the deep cultural significance of his time there, from the Jackson water crisis to historic wins.
• Building Men, Not Just Players: Go inside the weekly chat sessions about life and love, and see firsthand his unyielding commitment to guiding young athletes to become exceptional men.
• The Prime Effect: Understand how one coach’s dynamic personality and winning culture can ignite fresh commerce, draw unprecedented national attention, and uplift entire communities.

Jean-Jacques Taylor is an award-winning journalist and president of JJT Media Group. He is a frequent contributor to ESPN’s Andscape and is a frequent guest on their airwaves and podcast verticals. Prior to that, Taylor was a sports columnist at the Dallas Morning-News and ESPN. He has covered 25 Super Bowls, two World Series, two NBA Finals, a Stanley Cup Finals, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and a host of special moments, such as Emmitt Smith breaking the all-time NFL rushing record.