‘Not a Single Ounce of Humility,’ ‘More Gaslighting From Coaches’ — CFB Fans Rip Colorado OC Brennan Marion’s Controversial Response To Question

Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, hired last December to rebuild the Buffaloes’ offense, faced pushback Wednesday after answering a question about how he divides carries among his running backs.

The exchange came in Colorado’s first week back from a bye, following three straight losses in which the Buffaloes scored a combined 27 points and fell to 2-3. Several fans, along with Jason Whitlock, took issue with Marion’s tone.

Colorado’s ground game has slowed in recent weeks. After running for at least 180 yards in each of its first three games, the Buffaloes managed 83 yards on 39 carries in the Sept. 26 loss at Baylor and 78 yards on 32 carries in the Oct. 3 loss to Texas Tech.

Fans Push Back on Brennan Marion’s Answer About Running Back Carries

Eli Whitney, who covers Colorado football for the Daily Camera and BuffZone, wrote that he asked Marion how he balances keeping fresh legs in the backfield with giving his running backs enough carries to find a rhythm. During the same session, Marion said Colorado’s run game has to be more special because the offensive line is opening holes.

One fan did not hold back and wrote, “More gaslighting from coaches. Have you averaged 7 ppg your whole career, Coach!?!”

Jason Whitlock also shared his thoughts in a post on X. “Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall and listen to Deion and his O-coordinator just try to out-arrogance each other? Not a single ounce of humility between the two.”

Colorado scored 7 points in two of its three straight losses and averages 18.6 points per game, last in the Big 12. Marion, on Wednesday, called the offense’s struggles new territory for him.

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“Bro nobody cares about the past and even more so UNLV and Sacramento State,” Spencer Smith, who co-hosts the “Big Drive Energy” podcast, wrote. “This is (supposed to be) Big12 football. These Colorado coaches, man, acting like the media is talking crazy when they can’t be competitive in any games.”

Marion was UNLV’s offensive coordinator in 2023 and 2024, and the Rebels averaged a school-record 36.2 points per game in 2024 to go with 251.2 rushing yards per game, the program’s most in over 45 years. He then went 7-5 as Sacramento State’s head coach in 2025, a year after the Hornets finished 3-9.

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Another fan, zeroing in on the question itself, wrote, “He didn’t ask if the running backs or the running game would be fine. He asked how you manage a room full of talented backs and distribute carries. Not every question is an attack. The immediate defensiveness and emotional responses to legitimate football questions is so tired.”

Colorado, which ranks 121st on PFN’s CFB Offense Impact Metric, has handed carries to Micah Welch, Damian Henderson II, JaQuail Smith, Richard Young, and DeKalon Taylor this season, with Henderson and JaQuail Smith following Marion from Sacramento State.

Chiming in as well, another fan wrote, “They don’t even know how to answer regular questions, man.”

One more fan offered a mock version of Marion’s response. “‘Why are you asking me running game questions when our running game is currently 15th in a 16-team conference?'”

Colorado averages 140.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks 15th in the 16-team Big 12, ahead of only TCU at 125.4.

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Amid the slump, Colorado coach Deion Sanders stood by his coordinator Tuesday, saying he believes in Marion when asked about potentially switching play-calling duties.

Marion said the bye week was spent figuring out how to finish drives, and Colorado will now face No. 11 Utah on Saturday at Folsom Field.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.