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The wild story behind Deion Sanders' new coaching hire at Colorado
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- The wild story behind Deion Sanders' new coaching hire at Colorado
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders ventured outside his usual comfort zone to make arguably the most important hire of his coaching career. He hired somebody he didn't personally know who didn't play or coach in the NFL and didn't come directly from another major college program.
His name is Brennan Marion , Colorado's new offensive coordinator. And his unconventional Go-Go offense is just part of why he's such a compelling pickup for Sanders.
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This is a coach who overcame homelessness in college, who idolized Sanders as a kid and whose mom taught him the value of hard work by selling roses at nightclubs and bars.
Marion's hiring was announced by Colorado Dec. 5. USA TODAY Sports spoke with his mom, brother and uncle to get a better sense of his story. Here are 10 things to know about him:
1. He was homeless in college
Marion, 38, was raised by a single mom in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh . He went off to play junior college football in California, where the state's abundance of junior college players often attracts the attention of major college recruiters. But he didn't have the means to pay for his own apartment near DeAnza College in Cupertino, home of Apple, one of the world's richest companies. So he lived in the team's locker room or press box for a while eating electrolyte pills until a coach took him in . He later was recruited to Tulsa by assistant coaches Gus Malzahn and Mike Norvell , now the offensive coordinator and head coach at Florida State.
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"This guy is fearless," said Rich Gillcrese, Marion's uncle. "I mean, nothing in front of him is unachievable."
2. His mom sold roses to help pay the bills
His mom, Richelle Gillcrese-Hines, taught him the value of hard work at an early age when she would take him and his older brother with her while she sold roses at nightclubs and bars.
"I was showing them how to make money" instead of selling drugs, his mother said. Her children came along, she said, because they didn't want a babysitter.
Marion's brother D. Brandon Gillcrese is about six years older than Marion and remembers cutting the flowers and selling them during the wee hours of the morning.
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"We'd try to sell the whole bucket, and that used to be a good night," D. Brandon Gillcrese said. "Then we'd go to a diner and have breakfast at like 4 in the morning."
3. He's been sober for more than three years
This is according to a post from Marion on social media in July that alluded to his youth.
"3 years no alcohol, wine, beer nothing!" he wrote on social media site X. "I grew up in a bar I didn't want to die in one! Just gotta go 1-0 everyday!"
Asked what he does in social settings instead, he said he drinks Shirley Temples, water and cranberry juice.
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"I try to DJ & make sure everyone is having fun," he said on X . "Stop thinking or worrying about the drinking.
4. He runs the Go-Go offense
Wide receivers coach Mike London Jr. (L) and offensive coordinator Brennan Marion of the Howard Bison gesture to players during their game at Sam Boyd Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Howard won 43-40.
It's an uptempo and creative run-heavy triple-option-style scheme with a vertical passing game. In 2025, his Sacramento State team ran the ball 71.9% of the time and finished 7-5, one year after finishing 3-9 before Marion's arrival.
Marion has been running versions of it since he coached high school football and beyond, including stops at Howard University and UNLV. His system helps give lesser talented or undersized rosters a better chance.
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"He had to find a way to maximize the talent and kind of create a new way to be deceptive in his playcalling," said Rich Gillcrese, Marion's uncle.
For example, as offensive coordinator at Howard, he led a massive upset against 45-point favorite UNLV in 2017 , when the Bison won, 43-40. Sanders wants him to use it to revive a team that finished 3-9 in 2025.
5. He's a cowboy
He wears cowboy hats and likes country music, according to his older brother. His time as a player at Tulsa and as an assistant coach at Oklahoma Baptist (2016) and Texas (2022) played an influence in this regard.
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"He's always loved country music, and he's been all over the place in his football journey," his brother said.
6. Deion Sanders is his childhood idol
He had Sanders' trademark gloves, jersey and durag, according to his mom . She said his birthday cake at age 8 said "Neon Brennan" in honor of "Neon Deion."
He played defensive back and wide receiver like Sanders did, too. He didn't know him before recently , but now he's working for him.
7. His mom came up with $25 for him to start football
She said she was making $4.35 an hour when Marion started his youth football career around age 7. She could barely afford the $25 fee for him to join a team. She paid it anyway, saying she threw the money on the floor and warned they might not have enough money for electricity and food.
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But it was worth it. She said he scored five touchdowns in his first game.
"They kept saying Brennan Marion touchdown, Brennan Marion on the stop," she recalled. "They did that five times."
Brennan Marion of the Miami Dolphins poses for his 2009 NFL headshot at photo day in Miami, Florida.
8. A knee injury derailed his NFL aspirations
It came in his final college game at Tulsa in 2008, all but ending a career that includes setting the all-time single-season record for yards per catch in 2007 with 31.9 . He didn't get drafted into the NFL but signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent before more knee trouble doomed his NFL chances.
Marion, who couldn't be reached for comment, soon moved on to coaching at multiple levels, including high school and smaller colleges.
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9. Video games influenced him
Playing football video games in his youth played a role in his development, too, according to his uncle, whose only about five years older than his nephew. He remembers one year "you could create your own formations and plays."
"And I don't think I ever saw him play the game other than that way after that," Rich Gillcrese said.
It led him to figure out that he could "do his own thing."
"When he started coaching, I was the least surprised person in the family," Gillcrese said.
10. His brother is a basketball coach
Marion has one brother, who now lives in Los Angeles . He is a chef and a basketball coach of the California Storm women's youth basketball team.
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Both have come a long way from those humble beginnings near Pittsburgh with their mom selling roses.
"That's what fed us," D. Brandon Gillcrese said. "We saw the streets from a different lens. We saw a lot of things, but I think it shaped us."
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer . Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The wild story behind Deion Sanders' new coaching hire at Colorado
