Brennan Marion will be the highest-paid offensive coordinator in Colorado football history.
On Friday, the CU Board of Regents unanimously approved a two-year, $3 million contract for Marion, who was hired by CU and head coach Deion Sanders last week.
Marion’s deal, worth $1.5 million per year, runs through Jan. 31, 2028, covering the 2026 and 2027 seasons. The contract includes a $400,000 base salary each year, as well as $1.1 million in supplemental salary for community outreach.
The contract will make Marion the second-highest paid assistant coach in program history. Current defensive coordinator Robert Livingston signed a two-year, $3.2 million contract a year ago. Livingston made $1.5 million for the 2025 season and is set to earn $1.7 million in 2026.
Livingston and Marion are the first two assistants in CU history to reach the $1 million per year mark.
Marion, 38, is replacing Pat Shurmur, who is no longer with the program after spending the past two years as the Buffaloes’ offensive coordinator. Shurmur made $850,000 this past season.
The creator of the Go-Go offense, Marion spent this past season as the head coach at Sacramento State, leading the Hornets to a 7-5 record. Prior to that, he was the offensive coordinator at UNLV from 2023-24.
During his career, Marion has also been an offensive coordinator at Howard (2017-18) and William & Mary (2019), and coached receivers at Texas (2022), Pittsburgh (2021) and Hawaii (2020).
Per the terms of his contract with the Buffs, if Marion were to be fired without cause before the end of his contract, CU would owe him 85% of the remaining amount due on the deal.
If Marion were to leave CU for an NCAA or NFL assistant position during the first year of the contract, he would owe CU 40% of his salary; if he were to leave during the second year, he would owe 12.5% of his salary. He would owe an additional 5% if he left CU for another job within the Big 12 Conference.
Marion would not owe anything, however, if he left CU for an NCAA head coaching position or an NFL head coach or coordinator position.
