Texas is targeting Pitt wide receivers coach Brennan Marion for the same position in Austin, according to multiple reports on Wednesday. Eric Nahlin of Inside Texas was the first to report the news.
Pitt concludes its season tonight in the Peach Bowl (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), and so a resolution is expected soon.
The 34-year-old Marion's rise has been dramatic and swift. A former Tulsa receiver, Marion entered coaching a decade ago at the small college ranks. He quickly found himself a high school head coach, including at Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary -- LeBron's alma mater. He parlayed a head job at a different Midwest high school into a quality control job at Arizona State, working under the wing of Mike Norvell.
By 2016 Marion was the running backs coach at Oklahoma Baptist, which he then parlayed into the offensive coordinator job at Howard. Two seasons there led to one season at William & Mary where, in one season, he nearly doubled the Tribe's scoring average and added 100 yards per game to their output.
Former boss Todd Graham hired Marion as Hawai'i's wide receivers coach in 2020, and that led to his job at Pitt this season.
“It was important that we find a tremendous teacher and coach," Pat Narduzzi said upon his hiring. "Recruiting is very important, but your top priority is always having a coach who can develop his positional room. Brennan is a great hire because he truly checked every box—he’s a great teacher of wide receiver play and has outstanding recruiting ties in key geographical areas for us. He is a high-energy person who builds relationships and connects people. Brennan will be a great coach and mentor for our receivers.”
In his one season to date at Pitt, Marion helped Panther Jordan Addison win the Biletnikoff Award as the top receiver in college football. Addison has caught 93 passes for 1,479 yards and 17 touchdowns; his 113.8 yards per game are top five nationally, his 15.9 yards per reception rank second among all players with at least 90 grabs, and his 17 touchdowns lead the nation.
Texas is looking to replace Andre Coleman, who was retained from Tom Herman's staff by Steve Sarkisian but will not return for the 2022 campaign. Sarkisian also hired Georgia Tech's Tashard Choice to coach running backs, replacing new Temple head coach Stan Drayton.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.