BRENNAN MARION HAS CUT HIS TEETH IN THE COACHING PROFESSION. TODAY, HE CAN CALL HIMSELF A COLLEGE FOOTBALL HEAD COACH. MARION IS A GREENSBURG-SALEM HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE. (PHOTO GRAPHIC COURTESY SACRAMENTO STATE)
Before Mike Tomlin became head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he cut his teeth as a wide receivers coach at VMI (Virginia Military Institute) and Arkansas State; a defensive backs coach at Arkansas State and the University of Cincinnati; then to the NFL as a defensive backs coach with Tampa Bay and defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings.
To get to the top, you’ve got to have that drive, determination, that “stick with it,” and most importantly, be an expert at your craft.
It’s exactly what Pittsburgh-area native Brennan Marion is doing.
Marion, who grew up for a time in Homewood and attended schools like Reizenstein, Westinghouse, Penn Hills, Steel Valley and ultimately graduated from Greensburg-Salem High School, in Westmoreland County, has just been named head football coach of Sacramento State, the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned.
Sacramento State is part of the California State University system, with 31,000 students. Sacramento State plays in Division I FCS, in the Big Sky Conference. It’s Marion’s first head coaching job in college, after being head coach of high school teams in California and Waynesboro, Pa. Since then, he has cut his teeth in the college ranks, starting as an offensive quality control assistant for Arizona State in 2015, running backs coach for Oklahoma Baptist in 2016, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Howard University in 2017-18, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for William & Mary (2019), wide receivers coach for Hawaii (2020) and Pitt (2021), passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for Texas (2022) and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for UNLV the past two seasons.
Marion, who is the son of Courier circulation consultant Jeff Marion, was featured in a New Pittsburgh Courier article in 2019 titled, “Brennan Marion overcame homelessness and severe injuries to become a highly-respected college coach.” In the article, Marion discussed sleeping outside on the California streets at times, sleeping on public buses, and if him and his other junior college football players were lucky, they would stay at motels.
Those days are long gone, even though he’ll never forget those days. Today, he is the leader of young men. Not the assistant. Not the passing game coordinator. The head coach.
“I’m thrilled to announce Brennan Marion as our next head football coach,” Sacramento State Director of Athletics Mark Orr said in a statement obtained by the Courier, Dec. 20, 2024. “Coach Marion is the perfect fit for our football program, our department, our university, and our community. His demonstrated success in recruiting promising student-athletes and maximizing their talents will help us return our football program to winning conference championships. I’m confident Coach Marion possesses the dynamic ability to cultivate impactful relationships with internal and external constituents surrounding Hornet football. He will lead the student-athletes in our program to reach and surpass their aspirations of achievement both on and off the field.”
All the great football coaches have climbed that proverbial ladder. Urban Meyer, who won national championships with Florida and Ohio State, got his first head coaching job at Bowling Green State University (Ohio) in 2001. He then coached at Utah before getting the big Florida job in late 2004. Pitt Panthers current head coach Pat Narduzzi spent years as a position or assistant coach at places like Miami (Ohio), Rhode Island, Cincinnati and Michigan State before he got his first head coaching job as the leader at Pitt. Tony Dungy, the first Black head coach to win a Super Bowl (XLI, 41, Feb. 4, 2007 with Indianapolis), spent 15 years as a position or assistant coach before getting his first head coaching job in the NFL in 1996 with Tampa Bay.
In addition to his leadership abilities, Sacramento State was particularly impressed with Marion’s “Go-Go” offense, a high-octane offense that produces points. Orr, the athletics director, called Marion one of the best offensive coordinators in the country, and the perfect person to raise the Sacramento State football team into a new stratosphere.
And if anyone knows college football and offense, it’s Marion. After graduating from Greensburg-Salem High School and a few years in the junior college football ranks, he became an explosive wide receiver at the University of Tulsa. He had a promising NFL career, and was signed by the Miami Dolphins in 2009, but a series of serious knee injuries proved to be too costly.
Now, at age 37, Brennan Marion is ready to take his career, and the careers of others, to new heights.
“I’m truly honored by the heartfelt welcome from President Luke Wood and Director of Athletics Mark Orr to be the program’s next head football coach,” Marion said in a statement obtained by the Courier. “Sacramento State is fully invested in becoming a nationally known football program, and I’ve always relished the opportunity to build and create. My family and I can’t wait to serve the student-athletes of this program and the Sacramento community. As a university, we’re going to write history and work tirelessly to build something that the community will be proud of for generations to come.”
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