Colorado's Brennan Marion Reveals Why He Chose Deion Sanders

The Colorado Buffaloes made a big move this offseason when they hired Sacramento State Hornets coach Brennan Marion to be their next offensive coordinator. Marion will be bringing his “Go-Go” offense to Boulder, with the Buffs hoping it will turn the tide from a disappointing 2025 season.

Brennan Marion on Relationship With Deion Sanders

Colorado Buffaloes Deion Sanders Coach Prime Brennan Marion Sacramento State Hornets Offensive Coordinator Big 12 Conference — Dec 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Legendary football and baseball player and father of Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion Sanders on the sidelines prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at Huntington Bank Field. Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Marion went on Locked On Buffs to talk about his decision to take the offensive coordinator position with Colorado. Marion revealed how a conversation he had with Colorado coach Deion Sanders last summer affected it.

“We met and it was more like, wow. We just had that type of synergy. For me, that’s what it’s going to take for me to move,” Marion said. “For me, that relationship with Coach Prime had to be right and so when we met face to face…I was like ‘Perfect. This works for me.’”

Brennan Marion reveals why Colorado was the right move for him.#coloradobuffaloes #Collegefootball pic.twitter.com/IdRZ3DasuE
— LockedOnBuffs (@LockedOnBuffs) March 23, 2026

Marion talked about how Deion reached out and congratulated him after Marion was hired to the be the head coach of Sac. State.

Marion spent just one season with the Hornets, but he made the most of it. He led them to a 7-5 2025 season one year removed from them winning three games. Colorado decided to move on from their previous offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and now will give the keys to Marion.

“Go-Go” Offense Coming to Boulder

Coming with Marion to Boulder will be his “Go-Go” offense. The “Go-Go” offense is an uptempo offense that primarily features the quarterback in the shotgun alongside two running backs.

Marion’s offense for the Hornets in 2025 averaged 33.75 points per game. The Buffaloes could use some of that firepower in 2026. Four offensive players from his Sac. State team decided to follow Marion to Colorado by way of the transfer portal.

Wide receiver Ernest Campbell, interior offensive lineman Jose Soto, running back Jaquail Smith, and running back Damian Henderson II all transferred from Sac. State to Colorado over the offseason. Overall, Colorado has 43 incoming transfers from the portal.

The one running the offense for Colorado in 2026 appears to be quarterback Julian Lewis. Lewis is a redshirt freshman in his second season in Boulder. As a true freshman in 2025, he played in four games. The class of 2025 four-star recruit started two games and showed promise in his limited playing time.

He sat out the final game of the 2025 season in order to keep himself eligible for a redshirt season.

Colorado Buffaloes’ Offensive Struggles in 2025

Colorado’s offense was in need of serious changes after a 2025 season that saw them finish as the second worst offense in the Big 12. Colorado averaged the second fewest amount of yards per game with 328.4 and the second fewest amount of points scored with 20.9.

The only team below them in both of these stats were the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Oklahoma State went winless in Big 12 conference play and fired coach Mike Gundy during the season.

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