Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has assembled what he considers to be the best coaching staff he’s ever had in Boulder “by far.”
He doesn’t have any other Pro Football Hall of Famers on the staff, unlike last year, when he had two. But he does have two new assistant coaches who previously experienced something far less glamorous — homelessness.
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New cornerbacks coach Aaron Fletcher and new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion discussed it with the team Friday, March 13, telling compelling personal stories Sanders used to drive home a point.
“You get paid to do something that you want to do,” Sanders told his team, as documented in a video from his son Deion Jr. “It’s hard to feel sorry for y’all, understanding… what just two of these men, what they’ve gone through.”
‘Dom was chosen to unite y’all.’ Deion Sanders delivers eulogy for Colorado QB
Marion said he lived out of a trash bag, washed his clothes in the sink and slept on the grass underneath the stadium bleachers when he was in junior college in California. Fletcher got emotional when talking about how he lived in a homeless shelter with his mom and younger siblings in Dallas at age 13.
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Brennan Marion tells team about being homeless
Marion, 38, played junior college football at DeAnza College in Cupertino, California, in the shadow of Apple, one of the richest companies in the world. He was a long way from home near Pittsburgh and had to decide if he wanted to pursue his dream or go back home because he couldn’t afford to live in the California Bay Area.
“I had probably, like, three pairs of jeans, a couple shirts, two pair of shoes,” Marion told the players. “And I rotated the outfits. I remember washing my clothes in the sink. You know what I’m saying? And I stayed in the training room. I stayed in the press box. I stayed in the hallway. I slept outside. I slept on the bus some nights. I slept in motels on El Camino. I don’t know if you’ve ever been on El Camino, but you don’t want to sleep in a motel on El Camino.”
Marion also said he couldn’t afford books for class, so he photocopied his teacher’s book. He said people laughed at him for wearing the same clothes so often.
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“But I ended up being the No. 1 receiver in the country, in junior college, and finishing with a 3.0 and getting a scholarship,” Marion said. “So I made it happen.”
Marion then got recruited to play at Tulsa with assistant coaches Guz Malzahn and Mike Norvell, who went to become head coaches at Auburn and Florida State. Marion served as head coach at Sacramento State last year and is Sanders’ third offensive coordinator in four years. He will earn $1.5 million this year at Colorado.
Aaron Fletcher tells team about being homeless
Fletcher arrived in Boulder in December after previously serving as an assistant coach at Abilene Christian, Missouri and Tulsa. He grew up in Austin, Texas, and said he ended up in a homeless shelter in Dallas with his mom, who had recently given birth to his sister. His younger brothers were there, too, at ages 6 and 3. It wasn’t a pretty scene.
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“It’s like general population,” Fletcher said. “You out there out on those cots in front of everybody. All right? And if you know anything about shelters, a lot go on in those shelters now. You know what I’m saying? And I stayed up, because in my mind at age 13… I would stay up sometimes just making sure nothing happened.”
After leaving the shelter, Fletcher said he remembers his mom filing her income taxes and him seeing how much money she made that year: $16,000 working three jobs.
“I know God is faithful because of how this opportunity happened for me,” Fletcher said as he got choked up.
“That’s right,” Sanders said.
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Fletcher now makes $175,000 per year at Colorado, according to his employment term sheet.
Deion Sanders reminds players about recent tragedy
After the two coaches talked about being homeless, Sanders reminded his players they are provided three meals per day at Colorado. He wants something in return — effort.
“We want something back because we’re giving you plenty,” Sanders said.
His team conducted its first scrimmage of the spring football season Friday and is less than two weeks removed from the death of Colorado backup quarterback Dominiq Ponder at age 23. Ponder died in a single-car accident in Boulder County March 1. Speed was considered a factor, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
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Sanders delivered a separate message about that before his team goes on spring break next week.
“We just endured a tragedy,” Sanders told his team. “Don’t be another one. Make the right decisions.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deion Sanders’ new Colorado football assistants overcame homelessness
