The search for the new face of Colorado‘s offense has concluded with the Buffaloes landing rising offensive mind Brennan Marion on Thursday.
Marion spent last season leading the Sacramento State Hornets, an FCS school, to a 7-5 record and barely missing the FCS playoffs in his first stint as a head coach. Buffs fans might recognize him as the former offensive coordinator at UNLV and a top contender for this position under Karl Dorrell, who has made waves across college football with his unique “Go-Go” offense.
Sacramento State is not only Marion’s former gig but also my alma mater, and I watched all 12 of their games last season. Now that I’ve got my qualifications out of the way, here’s what Marion’s hire means for the Buffaloes.
Running game is back on the menu
In three years under Deion Sanders, the Buffaloes have never had an individual rusher run for more than 100 yards. Luckily for Buffs fans, under Marion’s offense, this somewhat played-out statistic should soon be a thing of the past. Wherever Marion has gone, he’s brought a fantastic rushing offense, thanks to his unique scheme that often puts two running backs on the same side of the backfield.
Nowhere was that clearer than with his time with the Hornets, where his offense gained over 3,100 rushing yards in just 12 games and scored 39 touchdowns on the ground. Sacramento State won numerous games off the back of their rushing attack last season, which would be such a drastic help to Julian Lewis and the Buffs’ offense.
See a need, fill a need
When Marion got to Sacramento State last season, the Hornets were fresh off their worst season of the 2020s, and he didn’t waste time refreshing the roster. He flipped the roster on its head, bringing in over 50 transfers in the portal, including several former high recruits from the FBS like Jaden Rashada and Jordan Anderson. In addition to his strengths on the portal, Marion was landing visits from five-star recruits that an FCS school like Sacramento State had never dreamed of before.
Colorado has been heavily reliant on the transfer portal under head coach Deion Sanders. That trend appears to be continuing with another small early signing day class for the Buffs. With the NIL budget of Colorado, he should have no issues replacing any talent lost on the offensive side and has experience completely rehauling a roster in a single offseason, which the Buffaloes very well might need.
Might need a microwave
While Sacramento State and UNLV’s run games were excellent under Marion’s watch, their passing games left much to be desired, especially last season. The Hornets only threw for an average of 163 passing yards per game and only 12 touchdowns. Much like Colorado this season, their passing game was very dependent on chunk explosive plays to get the ball moving. If Marion and Sanders can maintain the core of Omarion Miller and Joseph Williams, the downfield passing attack will remain deadly.
However, I have some concerns about Lewis’s development. While he’ll undoubtedly be one of the best quarterbacks Marion has ever worked with, he struggled to get even average play out of his guys, Cardell Williams and Rashada, in 2025. The jump to the Big 12 from the Big Sky could be one that the young OC struggles with to begin his tenure.
Just another stepping stone?
With Marion accepting the offer to join the Buffs, he’ll be moving to his ninth job in the last 10 years. The longest that he’s stayed at a job was two years at Howard and UNLV, which could be viewed as a positive, and he’s quickly climbed the career ladder in college coaching.
Yet, in the long term, the Colorado program should ask whether this is the right hire for the future. It’s an aggressive move by Sanders to get him, but it could leave the team looking for its fourth offensive coordinator in four years, regardless of the outcome of his tenure. That could be viewed as a positive, however, because Marion is a candidate for Power Four job openings next season, that likely means the Buffaloes’ offense was a can’t-miss unit.
Got their guy
What this move signals to me is that Sanders and the Buffs are all-in on winning in 2026, and if they are, there are few better offensive minds available than Marion. The hire reflects a willingness to change and build something totally new from Sanders in the post-Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter era, which the 2025 offseason lacked. While there needs to be proof in the pudding, the quickness of the move feels like Sanders got his guy for a Hail Mary attempt to get the program back on track.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Colorado football hires Brennan Marion to revamp offense in 2026
