Sacramento State is set to hire UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion as its next coach, CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer report. Marion spent the last two seasons as UNLV's offensive coordinator. Before that, he served as receivers coach at Texas, Pitt and Hawaii.
Marion, 37, will take over Sac State after former coach Andy Thompson resigned to join former Hornets coach Troy Taylor's staff at Stanford as associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator.
Marion has extensive ties to Northern California. He played junior college football at Foothill College and De Anza College in the Bay Area and coached high school football at St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School in Vallejo -- located less than an hour outside of the capital city of California.
Marion is the architect of the innovative "Go Go Offense" -- a hybrid spread option attack that uses two running backs and tempo to keep defenses off balance. Marion worked with Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison during his lone season at Pitt in 2021 and former Texas star wide receiver Xavier Worthy at Texas in 2022.
Under Marion, UNLV finished No. 35 in the FBS in total offense (425.8 yards per game) and No. 14 in scoring (36.2 points). The Rebels finished 10-3 and played for a Mountain West Championship and likely spot in the College Football Playoff, but fell to Boise State for the second time in the season.
Sac State was reportedly interested in former Virginia Tech and NFL quarterback Mike Vick for its vacant coaching position before pivoting to Marion. Vick accepted the coaching job with Norfolk State on Tuesday.
