Sac State football coach Brennan Marion is leaving. Who might replace him?
Brennan Marion’s departure from Sacramento State became official Friday, with the university announcing there will be new leadership in charge of the Hornets football program.
Marion in a text message to The Sacramento Bee on Friday morning expressed appreciation to Sacramento State, as he and the university confirmed news reports from Thursday saying he would be leaving to join Colorado. Marion also said “the future is bright at Sacramento State” and that “One man doesn’t stop the show.”
Marion was tapped by Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders to be the school’s offensive coordinator after just one season heading Hornets. Sac State is now in scramble mode to find a new coach in the heart of recruiting season, the lifeblood for any college program.
“I want to thank Coach Marion for his leadership during this past season,” Sacramento State athletic director Mark Orr said in a statement released by the school. “We look forward to continuing the success of Sacramento State football and will begin a national search for our next head coach immediately.”
That search will be headed by Orr and Sac State President Luke Wood, both of whom closed in on Marion as their Hornets choice a year ago when Marion was the offensive coordinator at UNLV. He officially joined Sac State as head coach last December.
Marion was big on the motto of “One great year can change your life.” After leading Sacramento State to a 7-5 record after a near-complete roster overhaul while setting program rushing records with his “Go-Go” offense, Marion drew the attention of Colorado and other major college programs to be a play caller.
Marion became a college head coach for the first time with the Hornets, and he said he departs with mixed emotions.
“Truly one of the toughest decisions of my life,” Marion said in his text message. “I love Luke Wood and Mark Orr. I consider them family. Love my players and the staff, and we were building, bringing in 74 players and an entire new coaching staff is not easy, but we found a way in a turbulent year to have a winning record.”
Marion continued, “The future is bright in Sacramento. One man doesn’t stop the show. To the Sacramento community, I’m grateful for you embracing my family and me, showing nothing but love and support. The opportunity to coach with Coach Prime (Sanders), the greatest to ever do it in football as a player on the big stage, is an opportunity my family and I couldn’t pass up.”
Wood told The Bee on Friday afternoon that he wished Marion well, and that it simply came down to Colorado offering much more salary money than Sac State could afford.
Wood said in a phone interview, “It’s been overwhelming with the amount of people who have reached out (about the opening). The No. 1 thing we need is someone who has been a winning head coach, and someone who is committed to staying for at least three years. In today’s world, I can’t expect someone to commit for longer than that. I’d be surprised if we don’t announce a hire by the end of next week.”
What the new coach faces
The Hornets are in a holding pattern of sorts in football. Sac State earlier this year pulled out of one of the top leagues in the FCS, the Big Sky Conference, after 29 years. The football program has an uncertain future in terms of its affiliation and, currently, belongs to no conference.
Sac State’s ambition is to move up in classification to the higher-level FBS sooner than later. Wood, the school president, had hoped to make an announcement by the end of November with an update on an FBS invite, but moving up to the FBS can be a lengthy process.
Sacramento State has just four games scheduled for 2026 in an era where college teams play 11 to 12 regular-season games. The Hornets may be an FCS independent, meaning no conference and a lot of road games.
Players decommit from Sac State
A sudden change in a head coach can rattle a program. Players have the option to jump in the transfer portal and seek a fresh start. High school recruits can decommit from verbal pledges, or they can get out of their signed letter of intent from this week.
Two national recruits on Friday morning — wide receiver Xavier McDonald and quarterback Jackson Presley — changed course after signing with Sacramento State on Wednesday’s early National Signing Day. The next signing period is in February.
McDonald, a 4-star recruit out of Morton High School in Mississippi, verbally committed to Sac State but was not among Wednesday signees. He announced in a social media post on X, “I have made the decision to decommit from Sacramento State.”
“With Coach Brennan Marion accepting the offensive coordinator position at Colorado, and considering the significant impact he and Coach Lem (assistant wide receivers coach Lem Adams) had on my recruitment, I believe it is in my best interest to reopen my recruitment at this time,” McDonald wrote, in part.
A 3-star recruit, Presley led Glacier High School of Montana to a state championship and passed for 7,943 career yards and 80 career touchdowns. He decommitted one day after signing with the Hornets on National Signing Day.
Presley wrote in a social media post on X, “Due to the unforeseen departure of Coach Marion, I have terminated my contract with Sacramento State and my recruitment is officially open.”
Coaching names to ponder
Sacramento State will draw a lot of applicants, just as it did after the 2018, 2022 and 2024 seasons.
In each of those national coaching searches, the Hornets received interest from NFL assistant coaches, FBS assistant coaches, FCS assistant and head coaches and retired NFL players eager to get into coaching.
Here’s a list of potential candidates this time around, all of whom have expressed interest in this position before and were interviewed or hired.
Troy Taylor
The homegrown product from Cordova High School who helped coach Folsom High School football to record success led Sacramento State from 2019-2022 as head coach.
The Hornets rose to immediate power in the FCS with a recruiting, a prolific offense and dominating offensive line under Taylor, a three-time Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year for winning three Big Sky crowns in the greatest run in the 71-year history of the program.
Long considered something of an offensive genius, Taylor following a record-setting 12-1 season in 2022 was hired away by Stanford, where he was the Cardinal head coach for two seasons.
He did not coach this season after accepting a buyout from Stanford in the spring for the remainder of his contract, following reports of an investigation into “concerning behavior” including reports of bullying, as first reported by ESPN. Taylor over the summer filed a defamation lawsuit against ESPN.
Taylor’s assistant coaches at Stanford included Andy Thompson, who replaced Taylor as head coach at Sac State and led the Hornets to the FCS playoffs in 2023.
Kris Richardson
Richardson and Taylor, close friends for decades, were co-coaches at Folsom High during some dominating seasons. When Taylor was hired by Eastern Washington and, later, Utah to be offensive coordinator, Richardson coached Folsom to two more CIF State championships, in 2017 and 208.
Taylor hired Richardson to be his assistant head coach at Sacramento State and to be the offensive line coach.
Richardson was the only holdover coach from the previous staff retained by Marion, who regularly raved about his coaching skill and impact. Richardson has told The Bee before that he appreciates being the Hornets line coach. He would pair perfectly if Taylor were to return.
Bobby Fresques
A starting quarterback for Sac State in the early 1990s who still ranks high in some all-time program passing lists, Fresques coached local high school football for years before joining the Taylor-coached staff in 2019 as quarterbacks coach.
Sac State set scores of school offensive records in 2019-2022. Fresques was promoted to associated head coach and offensive coordinator at Sac State before the 2023 season, when the Hornets last reached the FCS playoffs, and he helped mentor record-setting redshirt freshman quarterback Carson Conklin in 2024.
Fresques in 2025 served as Sac State’s lead analyst and Director of Alumni Relations.
Jon Osterhout
A former Hornets All-American lineman and a longtime former assistant coach at his alma mater, Osterhout has been the head coach at state powerhouse American River College in Sacramento since 2014, one of the top community college programs in the country.
Osterhout is also homegrown, having played high school ball at Oakmont in Placer County. He has helped scores of ARC players move on to Division I college programs, so he understands recruiting.
Angus McClure
A former Sac State offensive linemen who always liked being called a “Hammerhead,” McClure was a longtime assistant coach with the Hornets, including as assistant head coach from 1997-2003. McClure is known for his gregarious personality and ability to recruit.
McClure has had assistant coaching stops, mostly as offensive line coach, at Nebraska, UCLA, Nevada twice, Cal, and now with Kansas.
Jamar Cain
A Sacramento product who starred at Valley High School and Sacramento City College, Cain has coached across the country at the FCS and FBS level and is a defensive line coach with the NFL’s Denver Broncos, who are 10-2 this season.
Known for his calm and ability to recruit and inspire. Cain has had assistant coaching stops since 2004 with Sacramento City College, Ohio, Missouri State, Cal Poly, Wyoming, North Dakota State, Fresno State, Arizona State, Oklahoma and LSU before joining the Broncos in 2023.
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 12:59 PM.