After a relatively dull national signing day in Boulder, the day after was anything but.
Deion Sanders and his Colorado Buffaloes had a dismal season, especially on the offensive side of the football. At his last press gathering following a season-ending loss to Kansas State, Sanders promised big changes. With the ink still drying on the paperwork for his new freshman class, Sanders made his biggest splash of the young off season when he hired Brennan Marion away from his job as the head coach at FCS Sacramento State to become the Buffs new offensive coordinator.
Marion may not be well known to causal football fans, but those in the industry know him as a fast-rising young up and comer in the coaching industry, the inventor of the “Go Go” up tempo offense. Before spending last season in Sacramento, he was the offensive coordinator for two seasons at UNLV, where the Rebels put up 35 points per game to rank in the top 15 nationally and reached the conference title game two years in a row.
Sanders could also be looking at the 38-year-old Marion as a potential replacement when he decides to step away from coaching the Buffaloes. Sanders has been adamant that he has no thoughts of stepping down any time soon.
In many ways, the move mirrors Sanders’ first hire as OC when he accepted the Colorado job three years ago. That was when he went a similar route and convinced Sean Lewis to leave the head coaching gig at Kent State he had held for four years to become Sanders’ first OC in Boulder. After a fast 3-0 start under Sanders and Lewis, the Buffs hit a wall, ending the season 1-8 to finish out of the bowl picture. With four games left in that season, Lewis relinquished his play calling duties and Sanders handed them off to NFL veteran Pat Shurmur. Lewis had trouble getting on the same page with quarterback/coach’s son Shedeur and after the season resigned to accept the head coaching job at San Diego State. This season, the Aztecs finishing in a four-way tie for the Mountain West conference title and are bowl bound.
Although CU’s offense shifted to a more conventional look under Shurmur, he did allow the younger Sanders more freedom to freelance. The following season CU went 9-4, Sanders set numerous school passing records and receiver Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy.
This year, without Shedeur, the Buffs struggled under center, using three different signal callers. Colorado fans were calling for Shurmur to be replaced early in the season, but Deion made no staff changes until the hiring of Marion, other than the news that running backs coach Marshall Faulk was leaving Boulder to become the new head coach at HBCU member Southern University.
It’s expected that the new OC and sophomore-to-be QB Julian Lewis will have plenty of time to get on the same page prior to the start of next season. Colorado fans are eagerly anticipating spring football to get a first glimpse. Interest in CU football waned as the season dragged on. At first glance, this hire appears to be rekindling fan passion.
When they get that first peek, fans may have trouble distinguishing the two coaches, since Marion is also a big fan of sporting a cowboy hat on the sidelines.
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