Deion Sanders Adding Former NFL Star Vonn Bell To Coaching Staff
The last week of February was a rough one for Colorado head coach Deion Sanders as defensive coordinator Robert Livingston and pass rushing assistant Warren Sapp both left the team. But it looks like he'll be plundering the NFL ranks yet again to help rebuild that staff.
On Saturday, the Colorado Buffaloes announced a series of updates to their staff. Replacing Livingston will be Chris Marve, while Sapp will not be replaced. However, the team has named former NFL starting safety Vonn Bell as their new safeties coach and defensive analyst.
"Vonn Bell joins the Colorado staff as an analyst helping with safeties after a nine-year NFL playing career as a safety with the New Orleans Saints , Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers . A second-round draft pick in 2016 out of Ohio State, Bell appeared in more than 120 career games and was a defensive leader on multiple playoff teams, including Cincinnati's Super Bowl LVI squad. Known for his physical play and communication in the secondary, he totaled more than 750 career tackles, eight interceptions, and 16 forced fumbles in his NFL career," the team said in their announcement of the staff changes.
Change across the board
Bell is just one of over a dozen changes to Coach Prime's coaching staff this offseason. Just about every key position is being filled with someone either brand new or being promoted from inside the organization.
The team started the offseason with a pretty significant coup by convincing Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion to leave his post and become their offensive coordinator. Marion brought Justin Houlihan and Kenny Wagner over from the Hornets to be his QBs coach and assistant tight ends coach respectively.
Livingston's decision to leave Colorado to join the Denver Broncos may have been a blow, but it appears that he gave a letter of recommendation for Bell on his way out. Livingston coached Bell for three seasons on the Cincinnati Bengals, so he clearly must have learned plenty from him.
Bell was playing in the NFL as recently as two years ago.
Colorado's defense ranked among the worst in college football last year and their offense wasn't that much better.
Coach Prime has a ton of work to do to simply restore Colorado to respectability, let alone bowl eligibility. If he can't, 2026 could be an ugly year for him.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Mar 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
