Since taking over in 2022, Deion Sanders has done a lot to overhaul Colorado’s football program. After the Buffaloes finished 1-11 in the 2022 season, Coach Prime has steadily made adjustments and decisions to improve the results.
One such move is the hiring of Vonn Bell, who is set to become Colorado’s safeties coach in 2026.
What Vonn Bell Brings to Colorado
Having made a Super Bowl with the Cincinnati Bengals, Bell brings a lot of experience to Colorado. During his nine-year-long career in the the NFL, primarily with the Bengals and New Orleans Saints, Bell faced many great wide receivers, including Mike Evans, Julio Jones, George Pickens, and others.
Bell will look to improve Colorado’s defense, which ranked 77th on PFSN’s College Football Defensive Impact Metrics this past season. He joins a loaded coaching staff that features other former players such as Kevin Mathis and Andre Gurode.
After a good NFL career, this is an exciting move for Bell, and one that should go well. However, his coaching journey could go beyond college football.
If things go well with Bell coaching in Colorado, he could transition to the NFL, with many players, especially defensive ones, being prevalent coaches in the NFL.
One of the league’s best defenses, according to PFSN’s defense metric, the Houston Texans is coached by former player Demeco Ryans, who was a linebacker with the Texans and Philadelphia Eagles.
Former linebacker Zachary Orr served as the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2024- 2025 before joining the Seattle Seahawks as their inside linebackers coach.
In terms of secondary players coaching in the NFL, a prominent example is Dennard Wilson, who played safety and was recently hired as the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator.
With defensive backs who can play multiple positions, such as Ravens Kyle Hamilton and Seattle Seahawks Nick Emanwori, Bell’s knowledge and versatility could be put to use in the NFL.
In terms of where Bell could coach in the league, each of his three former teams could make a lot of sense. The Carolina Panthers could be a spot for Bell as the defensive coordinator in 2027. The current defensive coordinator for the Panthers is Ejiro Evero.
Evero has done a great job with the Panthers’ defense despite lacking elite talent on the roster and could be hired as a new head coach, making way for Bell.
The last team Bell played for, the Bengals, could bring in Bell. The Bengals’ defense has been struggling, ranking 28th in PFSN’s Defense Impact Metric.
But before a future in the NFL opens up, Bell has his task cut out for him, with Coach Prime hoping that the former Bengals safety can help a struggling Colorado defense.
