Colorado spring game attendance falls from more than 47,000 to 28,424

The bloom is off the rose in Boulder.

A year after more than 47,000 fans showed up for the spring game at Colorado in the first season with Deion Sanders as head coach, attendance fell to 28,424 on Saturday, via ESPN.com. (It was still the second biggest crowd in program history for the scrimmage that caps spring practice.)

For whatever reason, that fairly important metric was buried in an item that focused on Deion saying he won't jump to the NFL next year when his son, Shedeur, enters the draft.

Of course Deion won't. Last year, after he led the Buffaloes to a hot start, the prospect of Deion becoming a leader of men at the next level fascinated many, me included. Even though he wanted to coach the Falcons more than 20 years ago, Deion consistently said last season that he wouldn't go to the NFL.

After the way first first season as a big-time ball coach ended, it doesn't matter whether Deion wants to go to the NFL. That door isn't open. A special second season could change that. The current vibe, however, is that Deion needs to avoid sinking in Colorado before ever entertaining the possibility of swimming with the NFL's sharks.

I still won't bet against him. But it's sort of foolish to even mention "Deion" in the same breath as "NFL head coach" given the 1-8 finish after the 3-0 start.