On the eve of his fourth spring football season at Colorado, coach Deion Sanders has lost another one of his top assistant coaches.
This time defensive coordinator Robert Livingston has left to take an assistant coaching job with the NFL’s Denver Broncos. He will be replaced by former Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Chris Marve, who already was on staff as the team’s new linebackers coach. The change was confirmed on Feb. 25 by Thee Pregame Network, one of Sanders’ favored YouTube channels.
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The promotion of Marve means Colorado will have a Black head coach (Sanders), Black defensive coordinator (Marve) and Black offensive coordinator (Brennan Marion) — a breakthrough in a sport where there weren’t any Black head coaches in major college football until 1979, 110 years after the start of it.
At the same time, Livingston’s departure comes as Colorado prepares to start spring football practice March 2 with 47 new transfer players and several new coaches, including new offensive coordinator Marion.
It’s also the latest in a churn of top coaches to leave Colorado under Sanders. Since his hiring in December 2022, Sanders has had three offensive coordinators and now three defensive coordinators including Marve. Several left for better or similar jobs.
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Timeline of Deion Sanders coaching changes
∎ Sean Lewis served as offensive coordinator for Sanders for the first eight games of Sanders first season in 2023 before getting demoted from play-calling duties in favor of former NFL head coach Pat Shurmur. Lewis then left to become head coach at San Diego State.
∎ Shurmur served as offensive coordinator in late 2023 and in 2024, when Colorado finished 9-4. But he was demoted from play-calling duties after a blowout loss at Utah in 2025, when the Buffs finished 3-9. His contract was not renewed after the season
∎ Former Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion was hired as offensive coordinator to replace Shurmur after the 2025 season.
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∎ On defense, Charles Kelly served as coordinator for one season in 2023 before leaving to take a similar job at Auburn. He now is head coach at Jacksonville State in Alabama.
∎ Livingston, a longtime NFL assistant coach, replaced him as defensive coordinator in 2024, when his team led the Big 12 Conference in quarterback sacks (39) but then regressed during his second season in 2025. The Buffs finished tied for 14th out of 16 Big 12 teams in quarterback sacks in 2025 (13). Colorado also ranked 111th nationally in points allowed per game at 30.5.
According to terms of his contract, Livingston would owe Colorado $160,000 to break his contract with the school to take an assistant coaching job in the NFL.
At Denver, Livingston will work under defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, a former Colorado quarterback and ex-Denver Broncos head coach.
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The Buffs finish spring football with an intrasquad practice in Boulder April 11.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado football coach Deion Sanders makes history with staff change
