Oklahoma’s Brent Venables slams Deion Sanders for ‘pink slips’ approach at Colorado

Brent Venables has a problem with the way Deion Sanders does business.

The Oklahoma football coach called out Sanders’ extreme reconstruction of the Colorado roster during a recent Big 12 media day interview with KREF 94.7 FM.

“I gave guys 12 months of grace. I was unlike Deion,” Venables said, comparing how the two coaches started their latest tenures.

“I gave guys 12 months of grace to figure it out. Here’s three: Go to class, live right off the field, and when you show up here you show up with respect and appreciation with your opportunity.” 

Sanders was hired in December 2022 to revive the floundering Pac-12 program as Colorado has plummeted to the bottom of college football in recent years.

He is taking over a squad that posted a 1-11 record last season, pushing him to entirely reset the roster. 

Sanders has been utilizing the transfer portal – to an unprecedented degree – with more than 50 scholarship players leaving the program since Coach Prime’s entrance. 

In a different Big 12 Media Days interview, Venables accused Sanders of handing out “pink slips” to Buffaloes players, forced to find a new landing spot. 

“We’re another year in establishing our standards and our culture and our values,” Venables said to student-run OUNightlySports.

“That matters. A year ago, I challenged the guys. I wasn’t like Deion that gave guys a bunch of pink slips.”

Sanders has no regrets with his course of action.

The NFL Hall of Famer brought in this offseason’s No. 1 transfer portal class, according to the 247Sports rankings, including Travis Hunter who previously played for the head coach at Jackson State. 

“I was the genesis coming in, and now there’s exodus,” Sanders said in an interview on “The Joel Klatt Show” in June.

“… when the President gets into office, what happens to the cabinet? He enacts his agenda. What I am doing is no different than any CEO, any person of status that has claimed a position.”

The hope is that Sanders’ high expectations and grinding guidance will result in the teams’ third winning season since 2016. 

While Venables may not like Sanders’ approach, he’s got his own problems. 

The Sooners went 6-7 in Venables first season last year, the team’s first losing season since 1998 and they saw 21 players hit the transfer portal this offseason.