The Sacramento State Hornets are on the market for a head coach. Brennan Marion will leave the Hornets to join the Colorado Buffaloes as the offensive coordinator. Marion went 7-5 in his lone season at Sacramento State.
Marion was hired in December 2024 to replace Andy Thompson, who joined Stanford‘s coaching staff. Thompson went 11-14 overall, with one FCS playoff appearance in his two seasons. Marion brought in a vast array of transfers during the offseason, which led to sluggishness on offense at the onset of the season. The Hornets started with a 20-3 loss against South Dakota State, followed by a near upset of Nevada the following week (20-17).
Sacramento State went on to win four of the next five games to reach a 4-3 overall record heading into a home game versus Montana. Some comments during game week put a bullseye on the team, which lost 49-35. The Hornets won the next three games leading up to the regular season finale against UC Davis. At 7-3, the Hornets needed a win to have any chance of making the FCS playoffs. However, the Aggies scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to overcome a 27-17 deficit to win the Causeway Classic 31-27.
Before joining Sacramento State, Marion was the offensive coordinator at UNLV in 2023 and 2024. He will return to that position with Colorado, as Sacramento State attempts to find a way into the FBS. The school has not found a viable path, which FootballScoop reports was a sticking point for Marion and played a role in his departure.
Sacramento State currently has four known opponents for 2026: at Fresno State (Pac-12) on Saturday, September 12, home to Youngstown State (MVFC) on Saturday, September 19, home to Southern Utah (Big Sky) on Saturday, November 21, and home to Lamar (Southland) on a yet-to-be-determined date. Those opponents and dates are subject to change, given Sacramento State’s football team does not have a home for 2026.
Marion is the ninth FCS coaching change to occur in the current cycle. Albany (CAA), Cal Poly (Big Sky), Hampton (CAA), Penn (Ivy League), Portland State (Big Sky), Samford (SoCon), Southern (SWAC), and Weber State (Big Sky) have also announced changes. The full list of changes can be found here.
Photo Credit to Sacramento State University Athletics
