This is not new territory for Sanders, 58. The blood clot issue has been an ongoing medical concern since 2021, when he developed severe circulation complications while coaching at Jackson State. That condition resurfaced in 2023, when he underwent another vascular procedure shortly after arriving at Colorado, and returned in October 2025, when he had a four-hour thrombectomy to clear clots in his left leg. That procedure marked his 16th surgery related to circulation problems.