Ten names to watch for Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders and Colorado's offensive coordinator search

Days after Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders was hired to be Colorado’s head coach, Coach Prime made waves in college coaching circles by hiring then Kent State head coach Sean Lewis to be CU’s offensive coordinator. Coach Lewis and the Buffs got off to a hot start in 2023 before Lewis was stripped of his playcalling duties in early November.

The writing was on the wall that Sean Lewis would be moving on to another school after the 2023 season and on Wednesday it was made official that he would become the next head coach at San Diego State. Coach Prime finds himself in a familiar position at Colorado after changing offensive coordinators every season when leading Jackson State from 2020 to 2022. Given the connections and reach that Coach Prime commands throughout the football landscape, it’s anyone’s guess as to who Colorado’s next offensive coordinator will be in 2024 but three candidates lead the way as the calendar turns over to December.

The Favorites

Pat Shurmur

Pat Shurmur was hired by Coach Prime as an offensive analyst in July and assumed playcalling duties from Sean Lewis ahead of Colorado’s November 4th matchup with Oregon State. Colorado’s offensive struggles were largely the same for Shurmur as they were for Lewis as Shurmur slowed the pace of the offense and sprinkled in as much of a scheme shift as possible. With his vast NFL experience and background, Shurmur gained the trust of Coach Prime and Shedeur Sanders and had success as play caller before Shedeur’s injury against Washington State.

Shurmur has certainly shown the on-field potential to be CU’s offensive coordinator in 2024 but the question is, how effective of a recruiter would he be given Colorado’s issues with depth and talent along the offensive line? Before this season, Shurmur had been exclusively coaching in the NFL going back to 1998 when he was the offensive line coach at Stanford. While his current relationships at CU and his NFL experience have Shurmur at the top of the list, Colorado must hire an offensive coordinator that will only boost their success on the recruiting trail.

Brett Bartolone

Jackson State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022, Brett Bartolone followed Coach Prime to Colorado to be the Buffs wide receivers coach in 2023. Under Bartolone’s tutelage, Shedeur Sanders put up video game numbers and led one of the best offenses in the FCS in 2022. Before linking up with Coach Prime at JSU, Bartolone was an offensive analyst at Nevada from 2020-2021 and played for Mike Leach at Washington State from 2012-2014 before injuries derailed his career.

If promoted to offensive coordinator, Bartolone would assumedly mix many aspects and concepts of Colorado’s 2023 offense with his Air Raid background and success with Shedeur and Jackson State from 2022. Bartolone has proven success as a recruiter and developer of talent since arriving in Boulder but could also be seen as a coach who is still a few years away from being a Power 5 offensive coordinator.

Byron Leftwich

After spending four seasons as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator from 2019-2022, Byron Leftwich was fired in January and spent the 2023 season away from the game. Leftwich’s coaching career began in 2016 when he was hired as a coaching intern for the Arizona Cardinals under Bruce Arians. After earning a job as the Cardinals’ quarterbacks coach in 2017, Leftwich was promoted to interim offensive coordinator in 2018.

Leftwich played quarterback for the Marshall Thundering Herd from 1998-2002 and was made the seventh overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. After starting for the Jaguars for four seasons, Leftwich served as a backup quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2007-2012. Leftwich has all the qualifications to be Colorado’s offensive coordinator in 2024 but his visit to Boulder during the early days of fall camp is why he is on the short list of favorites.

Current and former offensive coordinators

Brennan Marion

Brennan Marion is known for his “go-go offense“. The go-go offense features a two-back set with an emphasis on options, misdirection, unbalanced formations and vertical shots. Marion was the wide receivers coach at Texas, Pittsburgh and Hawaii before earning his first FBS offensive coordinator job at UNLV in 2023. Under his lead, the Rebels scored the most rushing touchdowns in the country (36) and finished 26th in rushing yards per game (187.8). Marion was one of the best JUCO players in the country before he became an explosive receiver for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2007-2008.

Dana Holgorsen

Dana Holgorsen became the head coach of the Houston Cougars in 2019 and compiled a 31-28 record before he was fired on November 26th. Prior to that, he was one of the most successful head coaches in West Virginia history and produced a 61-41 record from 2011 to 2018. Holgorsen also served as the offensive coordinator for Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State (2010), Kevin Sumlin at Houston (2008-2009) and Mike Leach at Texas Tech (2005-2007). Another coach with heavy Air Raid influences, Holgorsen has a proven track record and is a widely respected name amongst football coaches around the nation.

Cortez Hankton

Cortez Hankton has been LSU’s wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator since 2022 and was Georgia’s wide receivers coach from 2018 to 2021 while also serving as their pass game coordinator in 2021. He also coached wide receivers at Vanderbilt from 2015 to 2017 and Dartmouth from 2012 to 2014. As a wide receiver for Texas Southern from 1998 to 2002, Hankton set school records for career receiving yards, receiving yards in a season and most consecutive games with a receiving touchdown. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2003 to 2008. Hankton coached alongside Colorado’s director of player personnel, Corey Phillips, at LSU and Colorado defensive ends coach, Nick Williams, at Georgia. He has proven himself to be an effective recruiter of high-level talent throughout his coaching career.

Kliff Kingsbury

Coming off of head coaching runs with the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2022 and Texas Tech from 2013 to 2018, Kliff Kingsbury landed at USC to be their quarterbacks coach and senior offensive analyst under Lincoln Riley in 2023. Kingsbury is another descendent of the Mike Leach and Air Raid coaching tree and has coached quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, Johnny Manziel and Case Keenum. He was an extremely successful quarterback at Texas Tech from 1999 to 2002 for head coaches Spike Dykes and Mike Leach and had four stints with NFL teams from 2003 to 2005.

Longshots

David Shaw

One of the best head coaches in Stanford Cardinal history, David Shaw spent the 2023 season on the sidelines after he resigned following the conclusion of the 2022 season. Shaw’s desire to return to the coaching ranks is unknown but his extensive experience coaching in the NFL and college football would prove to be a tremendous addition to any coaching staff.

Eric Bieniemy

The Washington Commanders’ current offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, Eric Bieniemy is a Colorado Buffaloes legend and served as CU’s offensive coordinator from 2011 to 2012 under Jon Embree. As of Week 13 of the 2023 NFL season, the Commanders are in last place in the NFC East and could undergo a complete change of staff with the organization’s recent change in ownership. Given his prior history and checkered past at the University of Colorado, it would be a shock to see Bieniemy back in Boulder.

Chip Kelly

Before UCLA’s 38-20 win over USC on November 18th, it was widely rumored that UCLA was considering parting ways with Chip Kelly. On November 27th it was reported that UCLA would be bringing Kelly back for his seventh season as the Bruins head coach but crazier things have happened in college football.