Coach Brennan Marion out at Sac State after 1 season, will join Colorado as offensive coordinator
We started Sacramento State where I spoke with the school’s new head coach Brendan Marion about his vision for the team and how the game of football changed his life. Now back to pass goes Johnson and throws near sight caught by Brendan Merion. Football is like religion. Brendan Marion believes football is where faith meets determination. Johnson to Brendan Marion where one season, one play can change *** life. I have *** tattoo on my arm that says Thank God for the ball to save my life. Football was kind of what brought me. Family. It changed his. Our 13th, uh, head football coach here at Sacramento State, Coach Brandon Marion. Marion, who’s known for his unorthodox play calls and his flamboyant style on the sidelines, is now the first black football coach at Sacramento State. What is being the first black coach for this program mean to you? Um, I think it’s great responsibility, you know, we can be from where we came from to get where we’re at right now and lead *** university to greatness. *** man forged in the steel city of Pittsburgh, *** place known for its love of football. I told my mom I didn’t want to play football, um, when I was *** kid and she was like, Well, you can get out of my house, you know, like you, you’re gonna play football. But life at home forced Marian to grow up fast. Obviously I grew up section 8 projects, you know, like rough. We moved every year. Um, I thought that that was kind of like *** curse on my life when I was *** kid that, you know, like, why is this always happening to me? Years ago, both his parents struggled with addiction. At 15, he put his mother in *** women’s shelter just to save her from an abusive boyfriend. At that time I was like, Man, I just got to be successful. eviction notice on the door. Like there’s just *** lot lot going on, and I was just like, you know what, I gotta be somebody. Like Marion went from periods of homelessness to breaking NCAA records at Tulsa University. But anytime you get Brendan Marion, he went undrafted, eventually signing with the Miami Dolphins before injuries forced him to choose *** different path. I just went all into coaching and it’s. You know, been the greatest thing of my life. Coaching with *** dozen programs including Howard University, where he perfected the scheme that would make him famous, the go go offense. The name Gogo came from really the DC culture. Named after go go music, an ode to DC’s black musicians of the 70s, the ball, which goes hand in hand with his respect for other black coaches. You talk about Herm Edwards, Danny Green. When I see those coaches, I see winning coaches. I don’t just see black coaches, I see coaches that have won, and that’s why they have the positions they have and so it’s my job to, to win. It’s that winning mentality that sent him back home to Pittsburgh. One slack ripped through before stopping in Longhorn country and finally UNLV. We want to have *** quality all while waiting for his shot at the top job. Sacramento State was the school that said yes and so I’m excited to be here and. And get it rolling. He’s inheriting *** program as Sac State looks to join *** bigger conference, build *** bigger stadium, and mold *** roster of young men with big dreams. To whom much is given, much is required, and I’ve always kind of lived by that to really meet kids where they’re at and help them grab grab them and help them get on the right path to where they should go. You can’t put *** price tag on that. Like this could be something here. He’s determined to pack out these stands, take Sacks State to new heights, and bring the go go to Sacramento. What an inspiring story, you know, Coach Marion tells us while at Texas he had *** conversation with actor Matthew McConaughey that helped him take his hat game to the next level and eventually he says he’d like to buy *** ranch here in Sacramento Valley.
Coach Brennan Marion out at Sac State after 1 season, will join Colorado as offensive coordinator
Updated: 1:57 PM PST Dec 4, 2025
Brennan Marion has informed his staff he is leaving Sacramento State after his first year as head football coach and will take Colorado’s offensive coordinator job, sources told KCRA 3.(Previous coverage in the video player above) Marion’s Hornets finished 7-5 overall and missed the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Marion took the job in 2024, with hopes of revamping the program and implementing his “Go-Go” offensive scheme he developed as the offensive coordinator at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The abrupt departure of Marion caps a whirlwind season for Sac State football which included: an on-campus stadium renovation project being scrapped and moved to Cal Expo, an exit from the Big Sky Conference in hopes of joining the FBS, the university president facing backlash for comments made poking fun at opponents, Marion being fined by the Big Sky Conference for comments made about how the team was officiated and a postgame concert being canceled after 10 minutes due to safety issues.Colorado will be getting a seasoned coordinator in Marion, who was also on the sideline at Texas, Pittsburgh and the University of Hawaii prior to his stints at UNLV and Sac State. The Buffaloes finished 3-9 in 2025 and put up less than 21 points per game. Marion’s Hornets averaged nearly 34 points per game and had one of the most lethal rushing attacks in the FCS.
Brennan Marion has informed his staff he is leaving Sacramento State after his first year as head football coach and will take Colorado’s offensive coordinator job, sources told KCRA 3.
(Previous coverage in the video player above)
Marion’s Hornets finished 7-5 overall and missed the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Marion took the job in 2024, with hopes of revamping the program and implementing his “Go-Go” offensive scheme he developed as the offensive coordinator at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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The abrupt departure of Marion caps a whirlwind season for Sac State football which included: an on-campus stadium renovation project being scrapped and moved to Cal Expo, an exit from the Big Sky Conference in hopes of joining the FBS, the university president facing backlash for comments made poking fun at opponents, Marion being fined by the Big Sky Conference for comments made about how the team was officiated and a postgame concert being canceled after 10 minutes due to safety issues.
Colorado will be getting a seasoned coordinator in Marion, who was also on the sideline at Texas, Pittsburgh and the University of Hawaii prior to his stints at UNLV and Sac State. The Buffaloes finished 3-9 in 2025 and put up less than 21 points per game. Marion’s Hornets averaged nearly 34 points per game and had one of the most lethal rushing attacks in the FCS.