Former Vikings Star Signed to Fix Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes
Former Vikings star has been hired by Deion Sandersto fix Buffalo.
Deion Sanders hired former Vikings linebacker Phil Loadhold to develop the offensive line.
Deion Sanders’ first year as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes has brought unprecedented interest to a program that hit rock bottom a year ago. Now he’s enlisted a former Minnesota Vikings linebacker to help the team take another step forward next season. Cracks began to appear in Sanders’ overhaul of Buffalo’s roster. The biggest is the offensive line. His son, Sheder Sanders, recorded 53 sacks in the FBS despite sitting out the season finale against Utah with a back injury. The Buffaloes started the season 3-0 and finished 4-8 to end the 2023 season.
Deion Sanders’ stardom and recruiting prowess have earned him five-star talent at a variety of skill positions, but improving in the trenches is progress. Deion Sanders has recruited former Vikings right tackle Phil Loadhold to lead the development of the offensive front, BuffZone’s Brian Howell reported on Dec. 6.
“BuffZone confirmed with multiple sources Wednesday night that Colorado coach Deion Sanders has hired Loadholt to coach the Buffaloes’ offensive line,” Howell wrote. “The former Oklahoma punter and Minnesota Vikings starter replaces Bill O’Boyle, who left this week to coach linebackers at San Diego State.”
Former Vikings forward Phil Loadholt is the fitting plate.
A second-round pick in 2009, Loadholdt became an immediate starter for the Vikings in that season’s NFC title game. He started all 89 games over six seasons and helped Adrian Peterson pass for over 2,000 yards in 2012. Rodhold suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2015 and retired in 2016. Loadholt spent the past two seasons as an offensive analyst at his alma mater, Oklahoma State. He held that role in Mississippi from 2020 to 2021 and also worked at Central Florida State in 2018 and 2019. He also participated in the 2019 Nunn-Wooten Scouting Scholarship with the NFL Vikings, according to Buffzone. “Offensive line positions are filled. Someone who has experience, has resources and can communicate with all the kids top to bottom. The records are great. Where he comes from is a great Power 5 and I love everything about him. “When he interviewed me, he knocked it out of the park,” Deion Sanders said Wednesday on “Thee Pregame Show.” He is ready and willing. “But he’s already home.”
Loadhold will be tasked with developing an offensive line that struggles to protect Sheder Sanders from its Pac-12 rivals. “Are they trying to enter the portal again?” the Pac-12 coach told ESPN. “If you’re trying to enter the O-Line portal, you’re making a big mistake because you think there is no O-Line Man portal. There are some, but there are others who want more money. “They want to be paid too much.”
Deion Sanders plans to revisit the list in 2024, but also said, “We’re not an ATM.”
“It has to be developed and taught at some point,” the Pac-12 defensive coordinator told ESPN. “There are good offensive linemen in high school, but very few freshmen start on the O-line. ‘It’s a learning curve and your body has to move to where it needs to be.’
Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes has several ties to the Vikings.
The Buffaloes have extended their relationship with the Vikings as Deion Sanders is close friends with former head coach Mike Zimmer. Zimmer’s coaching tree extends to Colorado, where former assistant coach Pat Shurmur serves as an assistant coach.
Mike’s cousin Andrew Zimmer is also on the Buffaloes coaching staff.
