Colorado is targeting Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion for its offensive coordinator role, sources told FootballScoop on Thursday. CBS Sports first reported the news.
CU head coach Deion Sanders demoted offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur last month, amid the Buffaloes’ 3-9 season. After averaging six yards per play and 32.9 points per game in 2024 with Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn, Jr., on the roster, the Buffs slumped to an even five yards per play and 20.9 points per game this season. Pass game coordinator Brett Bartolone finished the season as Colorado’s play-caller, games that saw CU score 22, 17 and 14 points in losses to West Virginia, Arizona State and Kansas State.
Marion recently finished his first season as the head coach at Sacramento State, going 7-5. The school has made an aggressive push in attempt to buy its way into the Pac-12, at one point as recently as this past summer claiming they will be in the FBS as soon as 2026. Recruiting has been a centerpiece of that effort, headed by Marion. The Hornets at one point landed the commitment of 4-star wide receiver Xavier McDonald. Though McDonald ultimately signed with Ole Miss, Sacramento State signed the 77th-best recruiting class in all of college football, per 247Sports.
The inability to deliver on FBS membership for the 2026 season was a sticking point with Marion, sources said.
So, losing Marion after just one season would be a blow.
If Marion leaves Sacramento State after just one year, it would continue a climb that has seen him last no more than two years at a job in a decade and a half in coaching — a 2-year run as the offensive coordinator at Howard from 2017-18, and a 2-year run as UNLV’s offensive coordinator from 2023-24.
Marion’s college path, 2015-25
2015: Arizona State quality control
2016: Oklahoma Baptist running backs
2017-18: Howard offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
2019: William & Mary offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
2020: Hawaii wide receivers
2021: Pittsburgh wide receivers
2022: Texas passing game coordinator/wide receivers
2023-24: UNLV offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
2025: Sacramento State head coach
The Hornets showed great improvement in Year 1 under Marion’s Go-Go offense. Sac State finished third in FCS in rushing at more than 260 yards per game, nearly double their 2024 output, and saw their per-game scoring average grow from 29.3 to 33.8.
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