Sac State Football hiring Michael Vick!
- Thread starter M.C. fan
- Start date
A bit of nepotism, I believe.
In the 8 games the Hornets lost during Taylor's tenure, their defense surrendered an average of 37 ppg. They gave up 36 in the only conference loss they suffered over three seasons (to Weber State in 2019). And in the 3 postseason games, the defense surrendered 42, 24, and 66.
There might have been a TD given up by the offense or special teams in one of those games, but you get the point.
Taylor received all the flack for going 1-3 in the playoffs, not unexpected as the head coach, but it's hard to win any games when the opponent is scoring so many points.
Hopefully Thompson can turn things around at Stanford, but color me skeptical. And like you, I was surprised Coach Taylor made that move, even though they had become fast friends while at Sac State. Especially considering how quickly Thompson eroded the progress Taylor had previously made.
Many were jumping the gun and believing that higher bidders had entered the fray to steal Marion away, but either than didn't happen or Sac State upped their offer. Either way, if this report is true, they somehow managed to get the deal done.
I don't anticipate Marion sticking around for longer than a year or two (unless he's not overly successful), given his track history and the fact that he'll start drawing much more interest from FBS programs should the Hornets rebound from a down season under his leadership.
Unless, of course, the powers that be find a way to get the Hornets program elevated to FBS and he wants to be part of that for a longer term. I'd bet whatever contract he signs includes a clause that significantly raises his pay should Sac State elevate during his tenure.
Sacramento State hires UNLV's Brennan Marion as next head football coach
Sacramento State's head football coaching vacancy is being filled by Brennan Marion, who has been the offensive coordinator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas since 2023.
www.kcra.com
Wow!Many were jumping the gun and believing that higher bidders had entered the fray to steal Marion away, but either than didn't happen or Sac State upped their offer. Either way, if this report is true, they somehow managed to get the deal done.
I don't anticipate Marion sticking around for longer than a year or two (unless he's not overly successful), given his track history and the fact that he'll start drawing much more interest from FBS programs should the Hornets rebound from a down season under his leadership.
Unless, of course, the powers that be find a way to get the Hornets program elevated to FBS and he wants to be part of that for a longer term. I'd bet whatever contract he signs includes a clause that significantly raises his pay should Sac State elevate during his tenure.
Sacramento State hires UNLV's Brennan Marion as next head football coach
Sacramento State's head football coaching vacancy is being filled by Brennan Marion, who has been the offensive coordinator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas since 2023.
It sounds like his career trajectory is steadily climbing with FBS (HC) ambitions clearly in sight. Hopefully, as he climbs, the school will climb too!
Losing Troy Taylor was a huge blow, and the timing was just as severe. It's understandable that Taylor had to make a move, but he really had things buzzing.
If Marion can get things back on track and elevate them even further, the community will be buzzing.
I like the contractual idea you suggest. It ensures that both parties elevate together. But if he's as good as people are saying, you're right, the suitors will come.
If that's the case, Sacramento State's administrative job becomes rather tricky. It's imperative to elevate as the coaches elevate. That means having facilities, sponsorships, and support that rival middle-of-the-pack FBS institutions.
I would highly consider in hiring a California Community College Coach. Modesto Junior College, San Mateo or San Francisco City College has players and connections to those metros. If you add recruiting from the Northern and Central parts of California, you could compete at FBS level, just a thought.
Yes that's a good idea! All the programs you mentioned are good! The ARC coach is pretty popular in these parts too.
I know there was a push for him to take over! But sounds like Marion is the guy....
Jon Osterhout was not only a local HS player, but also a former Hornet and “Hammerhead” in the program’s Hall of Fame.
I’m sure Coach Marion has his own guys he wants to bring in, but he couldn’t go wrong adding Osterhout to his staff. I’ve read that Kris Richardson and Bobby Fresques also hope to stay with the program. Richardson is a good coach and keeping him could help ease the transition for the players.
Sac States new President is a bit of an enigma. I appreciate he’s “all-in” for the Athletic Department, but I also believe he’s a bit of a “meddler”. He craves attention, and myself (and many other Alum) find him to be a little too fond of himself. I also am aware that he has found that being “President” at Sac State, doesn’t mean he’s in charge. He’s run into some issues on campus in pushing one of his babies “Combat U”. Money at Sac State has a different value. If it cost a private entity $1M to build something, it would cost $2M at Sac State. Between all the government red-tape, ridiculous living wage rules, MWBE, and too many cooks in the kitchen; it’s tough to get anything done,
Here’s hoping Marion gets the Hornets back on track, the Transfer portal wasn’t kind to them over the past few weeks.
Here’s hoping Marion gets the Hornets back on track, the Transfer portal wasn’t kind to them over the past few weeks.
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TBH, I can’t see how they keep Fresques if Marion is the hire. If they do, I’d have a hard time thinking it would be as the OC. It would make very little sense for a new HC, who was known as an OC who has his own offensive scheme, to keep a returning OC. Richardson is a good fit, so we’ll see.
I was a tad confused by your response at first, but noticed you later said “president”. Because Mark Orr is and has been a pretty good AD.
As for Luke Wood, yeah, I pretty much agree with your assessment. I’ve been skeptical about him from the get go, as he was once on the Dr. Phil show defending extremist ideology prior to his hire at Sac State.
That said, I do agree that he’s been a positive wrt buying into athletics and pushing toward new heights. But he definitely does come off as a meddler and attention seeker, as does his brother who is part of the SAC-12 group.
However, if they accomplish positive things at Sac State, I couldn’t care less.
I don’t see any chance of Fresques being OC. Not only was he underwhelming this past season, Marion is a far superior offensive mind and almost certainly will want the job himself.
Kris Richardson, Cherokee Valeria, and Donnell Pumphrey are the incumbent coaches I’d most like to see stick around.
Good Catch on my transposing “AD” when I meant to say “President”. I too think Orr is doing a good job. The Coaches seem to feel supported by him, and he brings a good energy. I do think he is a bit hamstrung by the department’s lack of funding, and in this case, with a President who has his own ideas around the Athletic Department. Let’s see what Marion does, expect the official announcement today, or Monday at latest. He is behind in scanning the portal for this season, so he needs to get to work fast
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Actually, I don’t think it ended up too bad for them. A lot of players entered, but many pulled their names out later. There’s a ridiculous number of kids in the portal and only a small amount of open spaces.
They did lose Elijah Tau-Tolliver to Michigan State, but other than that, not too bad.
Let’s see if they are able to add anybody after the announcement of the Marion hire today.
From what I've heard, Orr was already in negotiations with Marion when the whole Vick rumor was put out there by someone other than Orr.
And you are right about Marion and his team hitting the ground running in the portal. Sac St has been a major player already the past week (receiving a number of commitments already) in the Portal; and today they flipped a NorCal kid from UNLV to the Hornets. Very positive signs thus far. From the little I've read and heard about Marion, seems to be a solid recruiter!
Football: Windsor’s Anderson flips commitment from UNLV to Sac State. Here’s why
After a coaching change at the top of the Rebels’ program, the three-star prospect has followed a key assistant to a new college.
www.pressdemocrat.com
2025 FBS-To-FCS Football Transfer Tracker
An updated tracker of all the FBS-to-FCS transfers this offseason
Right, the Vick rumors were bogus, beyond the fact that they had talked with him -- just as they had many other interested parties.
I do believe that Coach Marion was among their top targets, if not the top target. I don't know for sure, of course. But connecting dots, it sure seems that way.
Here is a complete list of all the commitments as of yesterday.
View: https://twitter.com/JamoSacSt/status/1872474903934538078
The President of Sac State has tried to make a name for himself in other ways before he got this job. For some reason, that hasn't followed him enough, but it says a lot about Sac State's mentality and priorities.
I've felt hesitant about Luke Wood ever since he was announced as President. There are numerous reasons why.
However, it's hard to deny the effort being made in such a short period of time, and especially most recently.
The new stadium announcement. The aspiration to reach FBS. And now the new coaching hire, whom many believe to be a home run.
What Brennan Marion has already accomplished in just a few short weeks is pretty impressive. Not only has he reformed the roster with something like 30+ portal transfers and HS recruits, the coaching and admin staffs have been scaled up like never before (they even hired a GM).
Hopefully it all translates to greater on-field success, beyond what Troy Taylor accomplished.
Apologies on quoting myself, but case in point:
View: https://x.com/BrennanMarion4/status/1874201093070299630
TR
I have a little insight to the department (Athletics), and agree whole heartedly with your take on President Wood (the hesitations, as well as the fact he’s making things happen). Sometimes it’s easy to say “ I don’t like what’s happening”, but the fact that things are happening is more than can be said for prior Presidents at the school. So I’m optimistic.
Im not sure how many positions there were in the football program previously (coaches, support personal, etc), but that sure looks like more bodies than they’ve had previously. The portal looks to be a huge success as well, can’t wait to see if things go as well as they are trending.
#StingersUp #GoGoSacramentoo
TR,
As you mentioned… things are different.
View: https://x.com/SamHerderFCS/status/1873790462995407218
As you mentioned… things are different.
View: https://x.com/SamHerderFCS/status/1873790462995407218
In a twist of fate, Geroy Simon ended up opting to go to his alma mater, Maryland.
View: https://x.com/Terrapins247/status/1874471427732095054
So, Sac State reportedly went in another direction:
View: https://x.com/mzenitz/status/1874634458059427855
