Chris Mack's Eye Opener: Marion Must Be the Move For Penn State

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Now that Mike Yurcich has been dismissed from his role as Penn State’s offensive coordinator, there’s one very obvious direction to go for his replacement.

And this decision should be easier for James Franklin to make than an ill-advised two-point conversion attempt.

Penn State’s next offensive coordinator should be Brennan Marion.

For college football fans who like to keep track of the latest trendy college football offenses, Marion’s name is a familiar one. The Greensburg Salem graduate’s ‘Go-Go’ offense, an upscale, well-balanced, innovative variation on the triple option, has kept defenses off balance since he first introduced it at Saint Patrick-Saint Vincent High School in Vallejo, California in 2013. Four years later, as the offensive coordinator at Howard University, he helped author one of the biggest upsets in college football history when the Bison beat UNLV, 43-40… as a 45-point underdog.

He’s continued his climb up the coaching ladder, rung-by-rung, including a nine month-long stop at Pitt during their ACC Championship season in 2021.
His mentorship of Jordan Addison during that Biletnikoff Award-winning season created a lasting relationship that led to Marion joining Addison’s family in Kansas City for the 2022 NFL Draft.

Whether turning around the program at Waynesboro Area High School in rural south-central Pennsylvania, innovating offenses at Howard or William & Mary, or serving as a ‘receiver whisperer’ and offensive advisor at Pitt or Texas, Marion has been a bright spot wherever he’s gone.

As the offensive coordinator this year at UNLV, where they have the 4th most productive Group of Five offense at 36.4 points per game, he’s helped the Runnin’ Rebels to their first winning regular season in 20 years, just their fourth 8-win campaign in program history, and brought them within a win of a Mountain West Championship Game appearance.

So we have an offensive innovator, from Pennsylvania, who’s helped turned around teams at all levels literally from coast-to-coast, can forge bonds with high-level players (see Addison, Jordan), and we’re not seeing him pop up on the short list of candidates to replace Yurcich and help Penn State finally contend with Ohio State and Michigan?

What are we doing here?

Sure, Franklin could promote from within. Ja’Juan Seider is a rising star in the college coaching community who’s going to get an opportunity to take the reigns of a Power Five offense sooner rather than later.

But is keeping things in-house really the answer for this offense?

Yeah, Franklin could go back to the well with Joe Moorhead or Joe Brady.
Both are good men who helped Penn State find offensive success previously.

But have you seen Akron lately or watched Josh Allen’s regression in Buffalo this season?

There’s always the wild, Manny Diaz-style swing for the fences, like a Kliff Kingsbury.

But as recognizable as the name is, what has Kingsbury really done? In nine years between Texas Tech and the Arizona Cardinals, he had three winning seasons.

Why wait around? Marion’s going to be on everyone’s list as Power Five offensive coordinator positions start opening up over the next few weeks.

For the few Penn State fans that still concern themselves with Pitt, there’s the added bonus of hiring the guy who Pat Narduzzi claimed to be totally unconcerned with following his departure for Texas two years ago.

For James Franklin, not only are you getting the kind of OC that can attract high-end offensive talent, but can also make them better once they’re in Happy Valley. Hell, the guy was an integral part of a coaching staff that helped make Kenny Pickett a Heisman Trophy candidate. Imagine what he could do with Drew Allar. And, at least in the short term, until he gains more experience, Marion isn’t yet at the level where he could be used as a cudgel against Franklin by those who are always itching to push him out.

And it should be as obvious as that 3-17 record Franklin has against Top 10 teams and 4-16 record against Ohio State and Michigan, that if he wants to start turning those two numbers around, the way to go for his next offensive coordinator should be Brennan Marion.

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