ESPN believes Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders got major offseason decision right

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders handed the play-calling reins to Sacramento State Hornets head coach Brennan Marion for the 2026 College Football season after quietly firing Pat Shurmur, following an in-season demotion to QB coach in November 2025.

ESPN’s Eli Lederman, Max Olson, and Adam Rittenberg are excited about what Marion will be walking into in Boulder, with a reloaded offense around redshirt sophomore quarterback Julian Lewis. They referred to Marion as a splashy move and lauded his success at previous stops at Sac State and the UNLV Rebels.

“It's easy to get excited about what Marion is working with in his Julian Lewis-led offense. The Buffaloes reloaded at receiver with Scudero, Moore and Kam Perry coming in to complement Joseph Williams. They inked seven offensive linemen with starting experience to get things fixed up front,” Lederman, Olson, and Rittenberg wrote.

It wasn’t all positive for Coach Prime’s offseason, though. The ESPN team pointed out the seismic losses, with left tackle Jordan Seaton transferring to the LSU Tigers and receiver Omarrion Miller committing to the Buffs’ Big 12 rival, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Deion Sanders needs Colorado’s coordinator hires to land for his Buffs future

Colorado has a new AD, Fernando Lovo, who is immediately facing a $27 million budget deficit. Needless to say, with the “Prime Time” profits down from Sanders’ early years at CU, the Buffs will be under the microscope in 2026.

Another down year, which would mark three of four in Coach Prime’s tenure, would give Lovo a good reason to convince Sanders to step down behind the scenes, with it being considered “retiring” for the media and the College Football world.

Marion and internal promotion Chris Marve have a lot of pressure to perform in their new roles, mainly for Coach Prime's sake.