New Sac State football coach Alonzo Carter does not begrudge his predecessor, Brennan Marion, for leaving the program after just one year on the job.
“Well, number one, I wish him and (his) family the best,” Carter said Thursday as his introductory news conference was winding down. I know coach Marion personally. He is a friend of mine, and I think he made the best decision that was best for him and his family. And I’m excited he made the decision, ’cause if he didn’t make the decision, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you.”
Carter and Marion are both African American. The former is the university’s 14th head coach. The latter was its 13th, stepping down earlier this month to become offensive coordinator at Colorado.
Marion’s abrupt departure brought condemnation on social media from some Hornets’ fans, not only for leaving after one year but also for taking a job seemingly of lower stature.
Carter — formerly the running backs coach at the University of Arizona who has 30-plus years of coaching experience from high school to major colleges — has been a leader in the movement to promote and elevate minority coaches to higher positions in college football.
So he passes no judgments on coaches making what they consider better career moves.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Carter became a national figure through his West Coast Zoom clinics — weekly sessions involving hundreds of football coaches to assist minority coaches with upward mobility in the coaching profession.
“Oh, man, that’s what it’s all about. I think when I first started my Zoom calls back in 2020, the biggest thing we were talking about was learning the game within the game,” Carter said during a brief interview with The OBSERVER. “And that was one of our main topics, not just knowing the X’s and O’s but learning to be CEOs.”
As of late 2025, there are about 16 Black head football coaches in NCAA Division I, with about half at Power 5 schools, but the numbers fluctuate, highlighting a significant underrepresentation where Black players are nearly 50% of the athletes.
In August 2020, Carter was named to the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches (NCMFC) executive committee, whose goal is to identify and groom coaches of color and create a list of coaching candidates for upward mobility. Since August 2020, he assisted 26 NCMFC members who advanced to coaching positions of greater responsibility or visibility.
Carter ticked off a list of Black college coaches who helped him along the way to landing his long-awaited first college head coaching position.
To be sure, Carter’s coaching staff will be integrated, but he also made it a point to retain several long-time Hornets assistant coaches who have served under previous coaching regimes and is courting former players to return to the fold to coach.
He’s retaining defensive coordinator Marcus Patton, offensive line coach Kris Richardson and offensive assistant Bobby Fresques. He mentioned former Hornets great and 49ers receiver Otis Amey as joining the program.
“I understand tradition,” he said. “I know what the city wants. I know what the community wants. So when you have coaches that are on the staff, that have Sacramento ties, that have a tradition, that goes back to the undefeated teams with coach (Troy) Taylor and with coach (Andy) Thompson, and then even most recently with coach Marion, you do want to give them the benefit of the doubt, to be able to be a part of this, to help elevate this thing.
“But you also want to bring in people that I feel that can take it from where it is, to where it needs to go. And I think a great mixture of that will give us the blend that we need to be able to take this program to the next level.”
Carter’s news conference was a joyous affair, attended by family, friends and former players sitting rows deep inside the modest meeting room at the university Welcome Center.
Even before he was formally introduced he led the audience in prayer in the memory of his late mother, Mary Jean Abraham. “She’s on my shoulder right now,” he said.
Sac State Athletic Director Mark Orr spoke glowingly about Carter, noting that their relationship goes back nearly 25 years. Orr cited Carter’s respect in the coaching ranks and his elite ability to recruit as some of his qualities. “Coach Carter has been successful in every step of the way,” he said.
Once taking the podium, Carter, known to friends as “Zo,” proudly spoke in a rhythm and accent that underscored his upbringing in West Oakland. At times, it was a revival of sorts as he issued shout-outs to members in the audience. He was alternatively funny, intense and fierce.
He listed a goal of owning California on the recruiting trail, soon to launch a four-day “Buzz Tour” scouring every corner of the state in search of top-tier talent. “I can do California in my sleep,” he quipped.
There was swagger but also humility.
Carter also was grateful for his first head coaching job at the DI level. As a Bay Area native, he knows Sac State well and said he plans to be around a long time.
“This is home. This is not a plaything for me. I’ll never take this opportunity for granted.”