Popular college football head coach to join Deion Sanders’ staff at Colorado

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Coming off a disappointing 3-9 season, Deion Sanders and Colorado football need some changes. They lost an NFL quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and two-way superstar, plus an elite crop of skill players. 2025 was always going to be a tough follow up to a great 2024, but the struggle bus hit Boulder even harder than expected.

Rather than packing up after a roller-coaster three-year stint, despite some wonderings whether he would step away, Sanders appears to be saddling up for at least a fourth ride through with the Buffaloes. For 2026, he's sprucing the staff up, specifically on the offensive side. After he stripped offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur of play-calling duties toward the end of the regular season, now, a new offensive coordinator is coming on board.

According to college football insider Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, Deion Sanders is trying to poach an active head coach, Sacramento State's Brennan Marion, to lead the revamped offense next fall. Here was Zenitz' report:

"Colorado is targeting Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion to be its new offensive coordinator, sources tell me," he tweeted. On3 also confirmed the move, which would be interesting for Marion, who only just got to Sacramento State as head coach this season.

Colorado is targeting Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion to be its new offensive coordinator, sources tell me and @RJ_cfb for @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/FMAeAqtgoF

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 4, 2025

Background on Brennan Marion

He led the Hornets to a respectable 7-5 mark this past year before deciding to reportedly accept the Colorado offensive coordinator gig under Sanders. Looking at his career path and offensive success with Sacramento State, though, it's easy to see Marion as a future high-level play-caller if head coaching isn't his thing right now.

Prior to the Sacramento State experiment head coaching an FCS team, Marion was a play-caller for a strong UNLV team in 2024 that lost a starting quarterback yet overcame to last in the College Football Playoff hunt for much of the season. He was a Rebel in 2023 as well as OC and previously coached wide receivers at Texas and Pittsburgh as well.

This is a rising football coach with a lot of positional experience on the offensive side of the football. He knows what it's like to run his own program, and while scoring a ton of points, he led an FCS outfit to a winning record just one year after UNLV went 11-3 and averaged 35 points a game under his leadership.

There may not be loads of offensive coordinator experience, but Brennan Marion's limited time as the head of an offense or team has featured quite a bit of explosive production. With a young but talented roster and surely an influx of transfer playmakers where they need them, Colorado ought to be taking a step up on offense next season.