Following the Pittsburgh Panthers bowl game loss to the Michigan State Spartans, the heavily rumored Brennan Marion reportedly told his players that he had accepted a job as WR coach and pass game coordinator with the Texas Longhorns according to Bruce Feldman.
The Longhorns recently let go of former WR coach, Andre Coleman for what could be attributed to a few different reasons, but the last straw appeared to be the Longhorns missing out a numerous highly touted recruits at the receiver position, leaving Sarkisian to move on and pursue a new coach to fill the position. There was speculation that Marion could be that answer, but the rumors were largely unverified leaving plenty of people still uncertain until now.
Career Recap: 34 year old Brennan Marion was one of the hottest names in the coaching market due to the success of 2021 Biletnikoff award winner Jordan Addison's dominant season. Marion's arrival helped the Panthers offense take major strides opening up the passing game and is a major reason that quarterback Kenny Pickett is now receiving first round buzz as he heads into the NFL Draft process. As the pass game coordinator, there should be plenty of optimism as Marion has had a consistent improvement everywhere he's been a part of the staff.
Starting at Oklahoma Baptist as a running backs coach, where the team put up a record setting year on the ground.
Then in 2017, putting together an outstanding year as Howard's offensive coordinator where he upset FBS program, UNLV, and brought a Howard program with 3 wins over the past two years to a 7-4 record in just one season on the staff, then being one of the most dominant offenses in the MEAC in the following season.
After his success at Howard, he accepted an offensive coordinator and QB coach job with William & Mary in 2019, helping the offense tremendously. The team doubled their average points per game, and improved across the board statistically.
Marion then moved on to Hawaii helping hybrid WR/RB Calvin Turner put together a tremendous season before joining the Pittsburgh Panthers this year as the WR coach.
Analysis: Marion is a lot like Stan Drayton in regards to, where you see his name, there is success in that picture, and that's something that is hard not to get excited about. Pittsburgh has had the same offensive coordinator for years, and Coach Whipple I'm sure played a tremendous part in helping the Panther offense make it's strides this season, but it's hard to imagine that for years these issues with Pickett remained and then when Brennan Marion arrives Whipple had an epiphany to just transform Pickett from a solid QB to an extraordinary one.
Marion is a versatile piece to the coaching staff who will bring flexibility, adaptability, and innovation to the offense in major ways. With the chance to sit in a room that includes Steve Sarkisian, Kyle Flood, Tashard Choice, and many others, there should be plenty of brain power to get the Longhorns offense out of what seemed to be stagnant phases last year.
If there is a downside to the hire of Marion, the only one I could even come up with is that he's proven to be career focused, and could very easily have a short term stay on the staff before taking off for a bigger role as quickly as next offseason, but that would be a wonderful "problem" to have after the offensive struggles Texas faced last season.
Heading into the offseason after a disappointing 5-7 season, there was a lot of bitterness shared among those with high expectations for the Longhorns in the preseason, and there were many who vowed not to "drink the kool-aid" in order to avoid getting hurt again. But Steve Sarkisian's tremendous offseason of major additions has made it a 95 degree summer day and the sound of ice clinking against the glass pitcher has to have Texas fans feeling thirsty, maybe it's alright to just pour yourself just one glass?
The Longhorns recently let go of former WR coach, Andre Coleman for what could be attributed to a few different reasons, but the last straw appeared to be the Longhorns missing out a numerous highly touted recruits at the receiver position, leaving Sarkisian to move on and pursue a new coach to fill the position. There was speculation that Marion could be that answer, but the rumors were largely unverified leaving plenty of people still uncertain until now.
Career Recap: 34 year old Brennan Marion was one of the hottest names in the coaching market due to the success of 2021 Biletnikoff award winner Jordan Addison's dominant season. Marion's arrival helped the Panthers offense take major strides opening up the passing game and is a major reason that quarterback Kenny Pickett is now receiving first round buzz as he heads into the NFL Draft process. As the pass game coordinator, there should be plenty of optimism as Marion has had a consistent improvement everywhere he's been a part of the staff.
Starting at Oklahoma Baptist as a running backs coach, where the team put up a record setting year on the ground.
Then in 2017, putting together an outstanding year as Howard's offensive coordinator where he upset FBS program, UNLV, and brought a Howard program with 3 wins over the past two years to a 7-4 record in just one season on the staff, then being one of the most dominant offenses in the MEAC in the following season.
After his success at Howard, he accepted an offensive coordinator and QB coach job with William & Mary in 2019, helping the offense tremendously. The team doubled their average points per game, and improved across the board statistically.
Marion then moved on to Hawaii helping hybrid WR/RB Calvin Turner put together a tremendous season before joining the Pittsburgh Panthers this year as the WR coach.
Analysis: Marion is a lot like Stan Drayton in regards to, where you see his name, there is success in that picture, and that's something that is hard not to get excited about. Pittsburgh has had the same offensive coordinator for years, and Coach Whipple I'm sure played a tremendous part in helping the Panther offense make it's strides this season, but it's hard to imagine that for years these issues with Pickett remained and then when Brennan Marion arrives Whipple had an epiphany to just transform Pickett from a solid QB to an extraordinary one.
Marion is a versatile piece to the coaching staff who will bring flexibility, adaptability, and innovation to the offense in major ways. With the chance to sit in a room that includes Steve Sarkisian, Kyle Flood, Tashard Choice, and many others, there should be plenty of brain power to get the Longhorns offense out of what seemed to be stagnant phases last year.
If there is a downside to the hire of Marion, the only one I could even come up with is that he's proven to be career focused, and could very easily have a short term stay on the staff before taking off for a bigger role as quickly as next offseason, but that would be a wonderful "problem" to have after the offensive struggles Texas faced last season.
Heading into the offseason after a disappointing 5-7 season, there was a lot of bitterness shared among those with high expectations for the Longhorns in the preseason, and there were many who vowed not to "drink the kool-aid" in order to avoid getting hurt again. But Steve Sarkisian's tremendous offseason of major additions has made it a 95 degree summer day and the sound of ice clinking against the glass pitcher has to have Texas fans feeling thirsty, maybe it's alright to just pour yourself just one glass?
