Brennan Marion surprised the football community when he left his productive head coaching job at Sacramento State to become the offensive coordinator for Colorado. The latter position seems to be more fitting for the coach, who can emerge as college football’s best offensive minds. However, his journey to coach under Deion Sanders was riddled with a heap of difficulties.

Days after being hired, the Buffs OC shared a lengthy account of his life before beginning his coaching career on X. Marion, one of the most prolific players of the late 2000s in the CFB landscape, was making plans for the NFL. At Tulsa, the former WR lit up the field and even broke single-season records for the program. But an ACL tear suffered in the C-USA Championship game ended what could have been a rewarding career for Marion in the NFL.

The Dolphins signed him as a UDFA in 2009, but more problems with the ACL prevented him from making the roster. That was all there was of Marion’s life in the NFL. However, there was still a lot more in store for him. The OC said that he then pivoted to coaching, and “fell in love with it.” But much to Marion’s dismay, not everyone was happy with it.

“[Hearing] family members and friends say I quit on my dream, use me for money, talk bad about me. I decided to give it one more shot,” he wrote.

Marion decided to head to Canada to keep getting reps. But even there, lady luck was not by his side. He tore his ACL yet again at his first practice in the new country. Marion narrated that this was one of the most trying times he had faced. But it also made him look at coaching more seriously than ever before.

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“I had a horrible surgery experience, spent time icu, mind you I was alone no family no friends,” Marion shared. “I called on God in that hospital said, ‘Lord, if you get me out of here, I promise to help every kid I come in contact with!’ People laughed at me. I was broke, broken hearted, depressed, lost, confused. [But] I had breath in my lungs and wanted to help kids.

“I went back and started coaching kids on crutches I didn’t even have a vehicle; kids would come pick me up. …The NFL called again. I decided to not go for a workout, but that was my dream. [And] after 6 knee surgeries on my right leg in 4 years, I decided to stick with God’s plan!”

That plan led him to Hawaii, Pittsburgh, Texas, UNLV, his first head coaching role at Sacramento State, and now, at Colorado. He developed so well as a coach that he also has a stylized offense system to his name. Marion became a hot prospect in football coaching from his high school stint itself. At St. Patrick-St. Vincent High in Vallejo, he led the team to the playoffs in 2013 after it had finished 1-9. He has helped flip the script at Sacramento State. All this lucrative potential will now be unleashed in Colorado, which is in desperate need of a spark.

This is Marion’s biggest job in his career so far, and by the way his trajectory has been, the expectations are sky high.

Brennan Marion also battled homelessness while being a college football star

The OC’s struggles in his professional career weren’t the only ones he braved in his life. Though he was an electric player during his school days, he had to deal with financial troubles. Marion was raised by a single mother, who struggled to gather the $25 he needed to play youth football. Then, in college, he went through a period of homelessness. Marion and a few of his teammates had to sleep in the press box and live out of the locker room, he told the New Pittsburgh Courier.

Before landing at Tulsa, Marion had to play JUCO football at Foothill and De Anza. He left for the latter college after an alleged fallout with the head coach at Foothill. But on the field, it was impossible to think that he was going through such a tough time. Marion was an All-American at De Anza and was the leading receiver in JUCO at that time. It was these heroics that earned him a deserving scholarship at Tulsa. Today, after all those hardships, he is extremely grateful.

“No person, place, possession, alcohol, pill, can help you when you are going through pain,” he wrote. “You need a real relationship with God – prayer & my daughter Mariah carried me through that darkness, 99% only love you when it’s sunny. Thank God for the ball that saved my life!”

It looks like Brennan Marion has finally found the light at the end of the tunnel. Not only is he getting to coach at the elite ranks of college football, but he’s also getting to work with his idol, Deion Sanders. At Boulder, life has come full circle for the talented coach.