Offensive wizard Brennan Marion, creator of ‘Go-Go’ offense, to be Sac State’s next football coach
Brennan Marion was closing the deal on a multi-year contract to become the new head football coach at Sacramento State, sources confirmed to The Sacramento Bee on Friday, ending a whirlwind week of speculation that made national headlines.
The former UNLV offensive coordinator, whose innovative and prolific “Go-Go” offense rejuvenated the Runnin’ Rebels to record heights, emerged as the Hornets’ leading candidate by Tuesday.
Friday, Sacramento State president Luke Wood hinted on social media that the decision was coming, and sources said the university will announce that the new coach is Marion on Saturday morning.
Wood and athletic director Mark Orr interviewed or spoke to candidates in-house and across the country, from the FCS and FBS levels to the NFL coaching ranks. Interest even came from Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, who has no formal coaching experience.
Former NFL first-round draft pick Mike Vick met with Orr and Wood about the job while also negotiating with Norfolk State, in his native Virginia. Norfolk State hired Vick as its head coach on Tuesday.
The Hornets appeal
Sacramento State is an attractive job, Orr and Wood have said frequently, because of the region, the school’s academic and athletic success and the framework of a $54 million NIL package to compensate players.
That would be spread over 10 years, should the football program be realigned into the higher-level, more lucrative FBS, especially with TV contracts. Sacramento State in September announced plans to build a new 25,000-seat stadium by 2028 to replace Hornet Stadium, which opened in 1969.
The Hornets have endured a lot of lean football seasons, producing one playoff team from the program’s start in 1954 through the 2018 season before a remarkable rise.
Sacramento State won Big Sky Conference championships in 2019, 2021 and 2022 under head coach Troy Taylor, the first in program history, and reached the FCS playoffs in 2023 before going 3-9 this season.
Second-year coach Andy Thompson’s resigned on Dec. 6. Thompson accepted the assistant head coaching post at Stanford under Taylor, who became the Cardinal coach after the Hornets went 12-1 in 2022.
Who is Brennan Marion?
Marion, 37, is a native of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and is a well-traveled coach with a reputation as a good recruiter and a sharp offensive mind. UNLV set school scoring records in his two years calling the offense, leading to the Runnin’ Rebels’ best season since starting its football program in 1968, going 11-2.
Marion did not coach in UNLV’s last game, the LA Bowl on Wednesday against Cal. But UNLV did use Marion’s “Go-Go” offense to beat the Bears 24-13 to register the program’s first bowl victory in 25 years. The 11 victories are the most for the program since 1984.
Marion has Northern California ties, having played junior college football at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills and at De Anza College in Cupertino in 2006 before starring at Tulsa in Oklahoma in 2007.
Marion’s head-coaching stints were in 2013 at St. Patrick/St. Vincent High School in Vallejo and in 2014 in Pennsylvania.
His college coaching stops include: quality control assistant at Arizona State in 2015, running backs coach at Oklahoma Baptist in 2016, offensive coordinator at FCS-level Howard in 2017 and 2018, offensive coordinator at William & Mary in 2019, receivers coach at Hawaii in 2020, receivers coach at the University of Pittsburgh in 2021, passing-game coordinator at Texas in 2022 and the last two seasons at UNLV.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 6:40 PM.