Sac State must help new football coach, not leave him at the microphone alone | Opinion
After Sacramento State introduced its new head football coach, Alonzo Carter, on Thursday morning, “Coach Alonzo” made it clear that he’s here to stay.
As a man who has come from humble beginnings, Carter said he sees himself in the kids he coaches — and that passion was evident.
“I got into football to save lives. I went back into my community and poured myself into my community. There’s an Alonzo Carter in every city you go to,” he said at his introductory press conference. “You just have to be able to have the resource and the mentality to go find that young man. Go find that young man that wants to be here at this university and play football for a man who doesn’t just care for him as an athlete, but as a person.”
With all the excitement around Carter — a coach with Football Bowl Subdivision experience, the top level of college football that Sac State aspires to reach — the elephant in the room is still there: The Hornets football program is on anything but solid footing, facing a scheduling crisis for next season and the possibility of players leaving through the NCAA transfer portal.
As current football players gathered inside to meet Carter, they were wearing jumpsuits bearing former head coach Brennan Marion’s “Go-Go Sacramento” slogan. In case you missed it, Marion spent only one season with the Hornets.
The responsibility of moving the program from the Football Championship Subdivision to the top-level FBS now rests on Carter’s shoulders. It’s time for him to make his own motto ... in his own way.
“(I’m) always talking about process over outcome,” he said. “A lot of the time, people want the outcome, they want the endgame, they wanna see what happens. I’m more focused on the process, and the process is ‘how do you get there?’”
Carter spoke for over an hour, with excitement and passion, about his mother, his love for the game, and what players can expect from his leadership.
Yet, when I asked about elevation to the FBS — a controversial move Sac State President Luke Wood pushed to make this year but so far has failed to pull off — he became reserved.
“That’s not my question. That’s a question for Mark Orr, our athletic director,” Carter said. “My job is just to put together the best championship football program to play at whatever level we’re on.”
I would have loved to ask the FBS question to Orr and Wood, but they did not make themselves available, bolting after the press conference was over, leaving Carter to answer these questions alone.
Wood is full of energy and charisma, so it’s no surprise he hired a coach who matches that energy.
But with both Wood and Orr leaving Carter at the microphone by himself, they’re failing to confront the clear unease surrounding a program that’s now hired two head coaches within a year’s time — and still hasn’t finalized a 2026 schedule because of its decision to leave its athletic conference.
The leadership that was missing
This wasn’t just a coming-out party for Carter; this was the moment for Wood and Orr to reaffirm to the students and the community at large that the university is on the rise.
That responsibility shouldn’t have been tasked to a new head football coach meeting the community for the first time.
This dismissive attitude has played out over the past few weeks, starting with Wood’s conciliatory response to Coach Marion leaving Sac State for Colorado weeks before.
“Brennan Marion left us in a great position. ... I have nothing but love for Brennan,” Wood said in a December interview. “I’m happy for him. I think he did a lot of good for this community.”
We can give Marion all the flowers in the garden, but that doesn’t erase the reality that he left the Hornets high and dry for an assistant coaching position at a 3-9 Colorado program.
Marion was the center of this new era of Hornets Football, at times even urging students to attend games because attendance was not to his liking.
So, even with Carter’s hire, there is a cloud of anxiety over Sac State football, and Wood and Orr have a responsibility to dispel that.
Carter is a wise choice for head football coach. But what may continue to challenge his football team is university leadership that misses opportunities to address the elephants in the room.
This story was originally published December 19, 2025 at 3:33 PM.
