By Larry Hicks Special to The OBSERVER
Sacramento State has fostered a few historic firsts since President Dr. Luke Wood and Athletic Director Mark Orr hit campus in 2023 and 2017, respectively.
The two have done it again, naming Brennan Marion as the university’s first Black head football coach, sources confirmed with The OBSERVER Friday night. Wood and Orr are expected to formally announce the hiring of Marion on Saturday.
Marion, 37, most recently offensive coordinator for University of Nevada, Las Vegas, also will be among the youngest head coaches in college football.
There are a lot of similarities between Marion, Orr and Wood. The three men, all Black, are considered innovators and visionaries – with Dr. Wood launching a new Black Honors College to support African American academic achievement; with Orr elevating sports programs through bold coaching hires which led to playoffs appearances in football and women’s basketball.
Marion, as the offensive coordinator at UNLV the past two seasons, is known for creating a dynamic attack called “go-go” that helped the Running Rebels earn consecutive bowl bids.
Marion replaces Andy Thompson, formerly the team’s defensive coordinator, who resigned after two seasons at the top job, including a disappointing 3-9 campaign this year. Excluding this season, the Hornets had compiled a 38-13 record since 2019 under Thompson and former head coach Troy Taylor, now at Stanford.
While early buzz for a new coach centered around former NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick, who met with Orr and Wood, the two university leaders remained focused on landing a candidate with demonstrated success coaching at the college level.
They think they’ve found that person in Marion.
“Sac State just signed the best offensive coordinator in football as its head coach,” Dr. Wood told The OBSERVER. “We are going to put hella points on the board.”
For his part, Marion said he is raring to go.
“Extremely humble to be chosen to lead Sacramento State University,” Marion said. “The vision of President Wood and Athletic Director Orr has my family and I very excited to build this program into a national power. GoGo Hornets!”
During Marion’s two years with the Rebels, the offense finished at or near the top in most categories. UNLV had 19 wins over the past two seasons and defeated Cal on Dec. 18 in the L.A. Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Marion was not present for that game, presumably to finalize the deal to become the Hornets’ new leader.
Marion earned Mountain West Wire coordinator of the year honors and was a nominee for the prestigious Broyles Award in his first season at UNLV. The initial results with the Rebels were stunning: a school-record six games scoring 40-plus points, including four consecutively; and at least 24 points in a school-record 10 straight games and record 12 overall.
“I’m so excited to welcome Brennan Marion to Sacramento State as our new head football coach,” Orr told The OBSERVER. “Coach Marion has demonstrated success in each step of his coaching career which began here in Northern California. I have no doubt that he will lead Hornet football to new heights. I can’t wait to partner with him.”
Marion comes to Sacramento during ambitious times for the university as Sac State officials and regional leaders have worked to move the Sac State athletics program to a rebuilding Pac-12 Conference as a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, or FBS, school – the highest level of college football. The Hornets, in the FCS, are a rung below.
If chosen for the Pac-12, Sac State’s goal would be to secure more than $50 million in the first 10 years in name, image and likeness, or NIL, commitments for student-athletes; raise funds for a new football stadium and a new basketball arena; and more.
Momentum has been on their side. From 2019-2022, Taylor guided Sacramento State to a 30-8 mark in four seasons, with two Big Sky Conference championships and a berth in the Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinals for the first time, among his achievements. Prior to the 2022 season, Sac State had never won an FCS playoff game. Thompson got the Hornets back into the playoffs in 2023 before the program tailed off this season. He was 11-14 overall during his tenure.
Marion’s up-tempo offense is specifically designed to run the ball downhill. It’s about tempo and spacing, using multiple formations to get favorable matchups to run the ball. Its main formation is aligning the quarterback in the shotgun with two backs to one side. Marion, in an earlier interview with the Athletic website, said the go-go offense is predicated on chunk plays, which come from teams overcommitting to stop the run.
“How you play without the ball determines how much you love your teammates,” Marion said during a coaching clinic, emphasizing that selflessness and spreading the ball around are among the keys to success. While most college offenses average 60-65 plays per game, the go-go offense strives to average 80.
Born in Hampton, Virginia, Marion played multiple high school sports in Homestead, Pennsylvania. He is no stranger to California. After graduating, he headed west to play football at De Anza College in Cupertino, earning all-America honors as a receiver before moving on to the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. He had brief stints in the NFL and Canadian Football League.
He entered coaching at the high school level as an assistant. His first head-coaching job was at Saint Patrick-Saint Vincent in Vallejo in 2013. He entered the college ranks as a quality control coach for Arizona State in 2015. In 2016, he was coach of running backs at Oklahoma Baptist University, then served as Howard University’s offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, he moved from Howard to the College of William and Mary, where was offensive coordinator. Marion resigned to become the wide receivers coach at Hawaii for the 2020 season. On Feb. 15, 2021, Marion joined the staff at Pittsburgh as the wide receivers coach. On Dec. 31, 2021, Marion was named passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at the University of Texas.