Inside The Panthers

Former Pitt Coach Named Broyles Award Finalist

Former Pitt Panthers assistant Brennan Marion is a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award.

Stephen Thompson

Former Pitt Coach Named Broyles Award Finalist
Former Pitt Coach Named Broyles Award Finalist /
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PITTSBURGH -- A former Pitt Panthers assistant coach, one who helped guide the high-flying offense that powered their record-setting, ACC Championship-winning offense in 2021, has been named a candidate for one of the most prestigious awards a college football assistant can win. 

Brenna Marion, who served as the Panthers' wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator two years ago, now the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UNLV, is a nominee for the Frank Broyles Award, given annually to the best assistant coach. 

Marion's coaching career has featured frequent position and school changes. He's spent more than one year in a job just once - his stint as Howard's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach lasted two years from 2017 to 2018. At the same time, he began to gain recognition for his innovative go-go offense

He arrived in Pittsburgh after a one-year stint as the wide receivers coach at Hawaii and helped turn around a Pitt pass-catching corps that had been underwhelming the two years prior. The Panthers ranked in the top eight nationally in scoring, total offense and passing offense that season as quarterback Kenny Pickett earned Heisman Trophy consideration and wide receiver Jordan Addison won the Biletnikoff Award. 

After spending one season with Texas as wide receivers coach, he moved to Las Vegas, where he has helped lead a revival for the Running Rebels. UNLV's is scoring 10 points more per game this season compared to last year and, while it's not a dominant passing offense, it still ranks 33rd nationally in total offense and 15th in scoring. 

UNLV is currently 8-2 and 5-1 in Mountain West play, with a chance to take sole possession of first in the conference with a win over Air Force this weekend. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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