Colorado and head coach Deion Sanders have hired a Hall of Famer to coach the Buffaloes’ running backs, announcing Thursday night that former NFL great Marshall Faulk is joining the staff.
Faulk becomes the third member of the coaching staff with a gold jacket, as Sanders and defensive assistant Warren Sapp are also members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sanders and Faulk were part of the same Hall of Fame class in 2011.
Faulk is replacing Gary Harrell, who coached the Buffs’ running backs the previous two seasons.
Earlier on Thursday, in an interview by Front Office Sports, Faulk was asked about rumors he could be joining the CU staff and his interest in coaching.
“Coaching, in a sense, nah, but helping these kids develop and get to the next level,” he said, while also praising how Sanders lifts others up.
Faulk then added, “We’re good friends and whatever I can do to help him out, I’m gonna do.”
Although Faulk, who will turn 52 on Feb. 26, does not having coaching experience, he brings an exceptional resume as a player. Also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Faulk was a three-time All-American at San Diego State and, from 1994-2005, he was one of the best running backs in the NFL.
During a brilliant three-year college career at San Diego State from 1991-93, Faulk rushed for 4,589 yards and 57 touchdowns. He was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1992 and was fourth in Heisman voting in 1993.
The No. 2 overall selection in the 1994 NFL Draft, by the Indianapolis Colts, Faulk played five seasons with the Colts and seven with the St. Louis Rams.
Faulk was the NFL’s most valuable player in 2000 and the NFL offensive player of the year three years in a row from 1999-2001. He is fifth in NFL history for career yards from scrimmage (19,154), seventh in total touchdowns (136) and 12th in career rushing yards (12,279).
In 1999, Faulk rushed for 1,381 yards and caught 87 passes for 1,048 yards. He is one of only three players in NFL history to top 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season, along with Roger Craig (1985) and Christian McCaffrey (2019).
The 1994 NFL offensive rookie of the year, Faulk was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and helped the Rams to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV on Jan. 30, 2000.
For more than a decade, from 2006-17, Sanders and Faulk worked together as on-air talent for the NFL Network. Faulk’s time with the NFL Network came to an end, however, after he and others, including Sapp, were named in a lawsuit filed by a woman who worked as a wardrobe stylist and accused them of sexual misconduct.
Although the NFL Network filed documents denying the allegations, Faulk and others were suspended in December of 2017. In 2018, the NFL Network reached a settlement with the accuser and the case was dropped, but Faulk and others did not return to the network.
Faulk has worked in the financial and men’s health industries in recent years. He also created the Marshall Faulk Foundation for underprivileged youth and provided funding for YMCA youth programs, the Boys to Men mentoring network and 9th Ward Field of Dreams.
Having worked since 2018 as a financial professional for WealthWave, a financial education and financial services marketing company, Faulk could be an asset to the Buffs off the field, too.
In the NIL era of college sports, student-athletes are making more money than ever before. Prior to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio in December, Sanders was asked what he would do if he could change one thing about college football.
“I think financial literacy classes should be mandatory so these kids understand how to manage their money when they get their money,” he said, while adding he would also add a pay scale.
In addition to coaching running backs, Faulk could make a significant impact on CU players with his ability to teach financial literacy.
On the field, Faulk will work with Tommie Robinson, who was named last month as the Buffs’ assistant running backs coach. Robinson, 61, has nearly four decades of coaching experience, including as a running backs coach at Texas A&M, LSU, USC, Texas and the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals in the past 15 years.