Analyst Dancy promoted to assistant coaching role

CU FOOTBALL NOTES

Sanders also says offensive line coach hired to replace O’Boyle

Vincent Dancy resigned as head coach at Mississippi Valley State to take an assistant coach position with the Colorado Buffaloes on Dec. 8, 2022. On Wednesday, he was assigned a different role for the Buffs. DAILY CAMERA FILE PHOTO)

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By Brian Howell

bhowell @prairiemountainmedia.com

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders didn’t take long and didn’t look far to find a new outside linebackers coach.

During a video posted on YouTube by Thee Pregame Show on Wednesday, Sanders said that he has promoted analyst Vincent Dancy to replace Nick Williams, who left earlier this week to join the staff at Syracuse.

“Watch what coach Dancy does this season,” Sanders said. “Oh, by the way, he’s your outside linebacker coach. Let’s run with that.”

Dancy was the head coach at Mississippi Valley State from 2018-22, leaving that position almost exactly a year ago to join CU’s staff as a defensive analyst.

A linebacker and safety at Jackson State from 2002-05, Dancy worked as the defensive coordinator at Paine College in 2014 and was the coordinator at MVSU from 2015-17 before being promoted to head coach.

While the head coach at MVSU, Dancy dealt with scholarship limitations and had just a 9-38 record with the Delta Devils. But, he developed a good relationship with Sanders, which led to Sanders wanting him on the staff this past year.

Now, he’s excited to see Dancy in his new position.

“This guy is one of the smartest guys on the staff that just needed opportunity and guess what happened? He got opportunity,” Sanders said on the video. “Vincent Dancy is going to be a coordinator one day somewhere and then consequently a head coach. One of the most intelligent coaches and can recruit. And when he talks to the team, when I put him up in front of the team, you could tell he was a head coach. He demands attention.”

In addition, Sanders reaffirmed that Pat Shurmur is likely to be the offensive coordinator, although he has not made a final decision.

Shurmur was promoted from analyst to co-coordinator with four games left in the season. The other co-coordinator, Sean Lewis, left last week to become the head coach at San Diego State. Earlier this week, Sanders told USA Today that Shurmur would “most likely” be the offensive coordinator.

On Wednesday’s video, he said, “That’s likely that would happen, but you gotta hold on. You just don’t know. But, let me tell you something about coach Shurmur. Pat is phenomenal. … Coach Shurmur is a wonderful man who is respected by the entire staff as well as the team and if that’s the direction that I’m going, I’m real comfortable with it.”

Overall, the Buffs have four positions to fill on the roster of 10 full-time assistant coaches.

In addition to replacing Williams and Lewis full-time, the Buffs are filling spots vacated by offensive line coach Bill O’Boyle (now at San Diego State) and tight ends coach Tim Brewster (now at Charlotte).

Coach Prime said he’s already hired an offensive line coach, but didn’t say who has been hired.

“Offensive line position has already been filled,” he said. “A guy with plenty of experience, plenty wherewithal, able to communicate to all the kids from top to bottom. Track record is wonderful. Where he derived from is a tremendous Power 5, and I love everything about it. When he interviewed with me, he knocked it out of the park. He’s ready and prepared. As a matter of fact, he’s already in house.”

There has been speculation that former Minnesota Vikings lineman Phil Loadholt, who went to Fountain-Fort Carson High School, will coach the Buffs’ line. Loadholt has been an offensive line analyst at Oklahoma the past two seasons. He held a similar role at Mississippi from 2020-21.

Loadholt played for the Vikings from 2009-15. While Shurmur never coached Loadholt, they were both with the Vikings briefly in 2016 before Loadholt announced his retirement. He was a second-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2009.