Deion Sanders promised changes in the aftermath of Colorado's 3-9 season in 2025. He has wasted little time putting it into motion.
Without there being an official opening at the position, multiple reports have come out on Thursday that Sanders is closing in on hiring Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion.
The report first came from CBS's Matt Zenitz, and appears to have been confirmed by NBC Sacramento's Sean Cunningham:
BREAKING: Multiple sources tell me that Head football coach Brennan Marion has informed his staff that he is leaving Sacramento State to join the University of Colorado. Sac State went 7-5 in their only season with Marion.
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) December 4, 2025
Marion is widely seen as one of the brightest young offensive minds in college football. He finished the regular season at 7-3 in his first season as the head coach at Sacramento State. He has been all over in the coaching world.
Prior to Sacramento State, he spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator at UNLV. He was the Passing Game Coordinator and WRs coach at Texas in 2022. He spent a year before that as the WR coach at Pittsburgh. He had previous stops at Hawaii, William & Mary, Howard, and Arizona State as well.
Brennan Marion is a splashy hire for Deion Sanders
Marion created the "Go-Go" offense during his time coaching high school football in Pennsylvania and California. It's an offense predicated on being able to find success despite not having the most talent on the field. That's helpful in Boulder, considering the recruiting class that Colorado signed in the 2026 cycle is one of the worst in the country.
His offenses at UNLV ranked 35th in the country both years in yards per play at 6.0. While the ground game will be key, he also led a Runnin' Rebels attack that put up nearly 250 yards per game through the air in 2023.
He also worked under Steve Sarkisian at Texas. There should be no fear about his ability to help develop a pass-first QB like Julian Lewis.
Marion is the first of what should be many coaching staff changes. Don't expect Sanders to announce that any coaches have been let go. They'll just quietly go away. He's not going to embarrass anyone publicly, but he is already proving with his actions that his words at the end of the season weren't hollow. He's committed to getting things fixed, and landing a sitting head coach who is well thought of in coaching circles is a major first step.