The Deion Sanders method

What we can do to get the mental health field up to "Prime Time"

I lived in Colorado for almost 15 years. While I worked at the University of Colorado School of Medicine for most of that time, I never really considered myself a diehard Colorado Buffaloes football fan. Sure, I would hope they would win whoever they were playing, but during my time in Colorado, the Buffs didn’t really give me or the state a whole lot to cheer for. For context, they were 1-11 in 2022.

Growing up in the south in a family that loved Tennessee football, every Saturday the television was on for the Vols game. Saturdays, was often the day when the outside world would disappear, and the game became the focus. Gathered together, families like ours would embark on a weekly ritual, embracing the camaraderie and love of college football. For so many, it's more than just a game; it's a tapestry of traditions, where team colors are donned like battle armor, pre-game gatherings take on new levels of culinary creativity, and stadiums (or living rooms) get packed with people all screaming for their team to win.

The beauty of this scene lies not only in the game itself but in the bonds forged by bringing us together to share in a common purpose. Generations connect through touchdowns and time-outs. In those hours, we find ourselves living for the next play, for the stories to share, the snarky texts to send, and for the unbreakable ties woven by the threads of college football on Saturdays.

Admittedly, I am still not much of a football guy, but I have been mesmerized, like so many others, about the new coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you have probably heard something in your life about Deion Sanders, an electrifying sports icon, known far and wide as "Prime Time." Sanders truly transcended the boundaries of traditional athleticism and swagger. He wasn't just a player; he was a phenomenon, dominating the fields of both NFL and MLB, displaying a versatility and prowess that defied convention. His speed and defensive wizardry were legendary, but it was his undeniable charisma that truly set him apart, making him a divisive and beloved force both on and off the field. "Prime Time" wasn't just a nickname; it was a testament to his ability to shine brightest when the stakes were highest.

Recently, Prime Time became Coach Prime at a small Historically Black College and University in Mississippi called Jackson State. His unorthodox coaching style, and all around flash, made him an unlikely coaching candidate; yet, it worked. Jackson State went 27-6 under Coach Prime getting him the attention of much larger schools like Colorado where in his first season he is already 3-0 and ranked in the top 25 of college football. Never mind he came into his first game as a 21 point underdog against a team that had played in the national championship last year. He didn’t care. He focused on his goal and he delivered.

Despite the fame, Deion Sanders is a person too, and has even publicly talked about his own mental health. And while I don’t know what Coach Prime would do if given the chance to reform the mental health system, I can say that he has gone after the NCAA when they denied eligibility to a player who had experienced some significant mental health issues. Coach Prime even went so far as to say, “It don’t make sense. Some things just don’t make sense. You [NCAA] say you really care about mental health but when you have someone really dealing with mental health, there’s a problem. And then ostracizing him in not allowing him to do what he’s blessed and gifted to do and the thing that presents him peace, that’s trying for a young man.”

Watching Coach Prime, his interviews, his take on the game, it got me thinking a lot about his method. It’s a method that I think he has deployed successfully throughout his career. There’s one part skill, one part show, and one part strategy that combines nicely to make him a different kind of player and a different kind of coach. I wonder if there’s something our field could learn from Deion.

Inspire: Watch videos of Coach Prime and his players - there’s an almost reverent call and response that has them all locked in and engaged. He has made a team sport, one which is truly about working together, something that extends beyond the field into the locker room. He inspires them to be excited about the game, their team, but maybe most importantly, themselves. I mean how many coaches do you know who have their own theme music? This inspiration extends from the locker room and hits the community. Consider that since Coach Prime arrived, merchandise sales are up 819% and season tickets are sold out! People are excited about football in Colorado again.

The mental health field could learn a thing or two about inspiration. As I have shared before, our field doesn’t really make it exciting to think about mental health, and most of our mental models of mental health are tied up in crisis or severe illness. We rarely think to get people excited about taking care of our mental health just because it is the right thing to do. We totally need more excitement and passion in the field to help people see all the positive aspects of mental health and why we should be doing more for it. I mean how cool would it be to have some theme music too?

Be bold: When Sanders arrived at Colorado, he immediately told his team that they either needed to prove themselves or make way for other players. He gave them a heads-up that he was going to be bringing in top level talent and that no one person was safe - it was all about proving yourself. In the mental health space, it’s hard to imagine a new CEO coming in to a mental health center and saying, “We haven’t been able to meet the needs of our community so I am going to ask you to do better or go somewhere else.” We know there’s a delicate line between the system and all its flaws and the clinicians and what they have to offer; however, I still think there’s value in really considering our “players” and those who make us a wining team vs. those who just maintain mediocrity. In order to know this though we need to have better quality and outcome data that transparently shows us our stars, from frontline clinicians to our executives. Even with data in hand, our leaders would have to be bold to push for such a big change.

Win: You see, if you have all the swagger and don’t deliver, it just doesn’t work. Deion has been flashy his entire career, but you know what? He delivers on it. The mental health field doesn’t have a lot of moments where we are “high stepping” into the end zone. We don’t have a ton of wins to really look back on. Even now with the wins we are seeing in policy, one could argue that they are not transformative enough - rather another refresh of what’s always been there. We have to get more wins that move the needle. Thankfully, there are organizations really pushing for wins and getting them. But we need more of them. On our watch it feels like we have to go big or go home.

No matter your take on Deion Sanders, football, or anything in-between, it’s safe to say that the mental health field could use a new coach. We’ve been closing out our seasons under .500 for too long. It feels like this is our moment to embrace a new strategy, a new direction. Deion’s combination of skill, show, and strategy appear to be paying off for him - it works. What we’ve been doing doesn’t work. I don’t know about you, but I am ready for a new direction for how we approach mental health; Coach Prime might be dropping some hints for us on how to get there.