Colorado University Athletics
Colorado Elevates Chris Marve To Defensive Coordinator
February 28, 2026 | Football
Alongside OC Brennan Marion and Marve, Dozen Others Added Or Promoted To Coach, Analyst or Director
BOULDER — The Colorado Buffaloes have elevated Chris Marve to defensive coordinator, head coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders announced Wednesday.
Marve replaces Rob Livingston, who has accepted a position with the Denver Broncos as passing game coordinator and secondary coach.
Marve joined Colorado this past offseason as linebackers coach after serving as defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Virginia Tech from 2022-24. He brings six seasons of coordinator or run-game coordinator experience at the Power Four level.
"Chris Marve was hired with the knowledge that he could one day advance considering his history and experience if the opportunity was presented," Coach Prime said. "He's a teacher, a motivator and a man of great character. I'm excited to get on the field Monday with these two extraordinary coordinators that will uplift our program on and off the field. God is incredible."
Together with Coach Prime, Marve and offensive coordinator Brennan Marion constitute the first time in CU history that the head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator are all African-American.
At Virginia Tech, Marve led a defense that ranked among the nation's top 20 in total defense in 2023 and finished second in the ACC. The Hokies also tied for 10th nationally with 39 sacks that season.
Prior to Virginia Tech, Marve coached linebackers at Florida State (2020-21), helping the Seminoles improve their run defense by more than 50 yards per game in 2021. He also served as defensive run game coordinator and linebackers coach at Mississippi State in 2019, where his unit helped the Bulldogs tie for the SEC lead in fumble recoveries.
"I'm beyond honored for the opportunity to lead the Buffaloes defense," Marve said. "I'm very grateful for the opportunity and for Coach Prime to entrust me with this phenomenal role. Sko Buffs!"
Marve began his coaching career at his alma mater, Vanderbilt, where he worked as a defensive quality control assistant (2014), graduate assistant (2015) and inside linebackers coach from 2016-18.
A native of Memphis, Tenn., Marve was a standout linebacker at Vanderbilt from 2007-11. A Freshman All-American in 2008, he was a four-time All-SEC selection and finished his career with 397 tackles, ranking among the top 10 in school history. He played in the 2008 Music City Bowl and the 2011 Liberty Bowl.
Marve has been part of three bowl games as a coach (2016 Independence, 2018 Texas and 2023 Military). Before college, he attended White Station High School in Memphis, Tenn., where he was named Tennessee 5A Mr. Football Lineman of the Year in 2007.
He earned bachelor's degrees in sociology and human and organizational development from Vanderbilt in 2011 and completed a master's degree in higher education administration in 2015.
As Spring Football opens Monday, the Buffs coaching staff is getting finalized. Beyond Marion and Marve, other new coaches and analysts joining the Buffs or moving into coaching or director's roles will be Vonn Bell, Dante Carter, Darius Darden-Box, Aaron Fletcher, Justin Houlihan, Kenny Ingram, Johnnie Mack, Josh Niblett, Clancy Pendergast, Rashad Rich, Joc Upton and Kyle Wagner.
Vonn Bell joins the Colorado staff as an analyst helping with safeties after a nine-year NFL playing career as a safety with the New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers. A second-round draft pick in 2016 out of Ohio State, Bell appeared in more than 120 career games and was a defensive leader on multiple playoff teams, including Cincinnati's Super Bowl LVI squad. Known for his physical play and communication in the secondary, he totaled more than 750 career tackles, eight interceptions, and 16 forced fumbles in his NFL career.
Dante Carter was elevated to defensive line coach after a season as a graduate assistant. He spent the 2024 season as the defensive line coach at Texas College, where the Steers were fourth in the NAIA in sacks. He played collegiately at Southeastern Louisiana and Prairie View A&M. Carter has also worked under the tutelage of pass rush specialist BT Jordan, which has led to Carter directly coaching a number of current NFL players including Myles Garrett, Zach Allen, Danielle Hunter, Nik Bonnito, and Will Anderson, Jr.
Darius Darden-Box moves into the role of Director of Player Personnel after three years as the Director of Recruiting. Darden-Box came to CU from Vanderbilt, where he was a quality control coach from 2018-22. He played at Southeast Missouri State as a wide receiver.
Aaron Fletcher joins the Buffaloes as the cornerbacks coach after serving as the defensive coordinator at Abilene Christian the past two seasons. He has previously coached at Tulsa (2015-20), Missouri (2020), Arizona State (2021-22) and Ole Miss (2023). Fletcher has been part of multiple units that ranked among conference leaders in pass defense and turnovers.
Justin Houlihan joins as an analyst and will assist with quarterbacks. He joins the Buffs alongside Marion from Sacramento State, where he was a graduate assistant and helped coach the tight ends. He joined the staff ahead of the 2023 season after finishing his playing career for the Hornets. He appeared in 16 games as a linebacker and special teams standout, and earned Big Sky All-Academic honors and graduated with a degree in business. He also played two seasons in junior college.
Kenny Ingram joins as an analyst and will assist with the defensive line. He comes to Colorado after a stint at Central Florida where he was the defensive ends coach. He also has worked as a coach at Arkansas, Arkansas State, Cincinnati, Memphis and Tennessee State, as well as two stints at Auburn in player development and personnel including the 2013 season when August was in the BCS National Championship game. Prior to college, he was the head coach at Melrose High School in Memphis from 2002-04, leading the team to a 37-4 record. He played at Arkansas State, graduating in 1999 with a degree in Political Science.
Johnnie Mack was elevated to running backs coach after a season as an analyst with the Buffs, joining CU alongside Marshall Faulk. Mack started his college career at SMU as an intern in the strength and conditioning program when Deion Sanders Jr. played there. He started his coaching career at East Carolina as a graduate assistant and also had stops at North Texas, Houston Christian and Hawai'i, before becoming a high school coach in both Florida at his alma mater Lakeland and in Texas, where he also played his college ball at Texas Tech.
Josh Niblett joins the Buffaloes as the tight ends coach after a highly successful head coaching career at the high school level in the South, compiling a 281-67 record in 26 seasons at four different high schools. He spent the past four seasons at Gainesville High School in Georgia, leading the team to the 5A state championship this past season. Prior to Gainesville, he built a powerhouse program at Hoover High School in Alabama, going 171-26 and winning six state championships in 14 seasons. He also won a state championship at Oneonta High School in 2004 in Alabama. He started his coaching career at Jacksonville State in 1997-99 before beginning his high school career.
Clancy Pendergast will join the staff as a senior analyst and assist with the linebackers. He brings more than three decades of coaching experience to the Buffs, including more than 15 years of NFL experience and almost two decades coaching at the Power 4 level. Most recently an analyst at UCLA since 2021, he was also the defensive coordinator at Cal from 2010-12 and USC in 2013 and 2016-19. He also has NFL experience at the Houston Oliers, Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs, the last two where he served as the defensive coordinator, for the Cardinals from 2004-08 and the Chiefs in 2009.
Rashad Rich joins the staff as Director of Recruiting. He came to CU after four year at Penn State where he worked in the recruiting department from 2022-25. Prior to Penn State, he was a scout for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League from 2017-22 and served as a scouting intern for the Chicago Bears in 2021. He has coached at the high school level and also served as Director of Football at Peak Performance. He played football at Bacone College and graduated with a degree in Physical Therapy.
Joc Upton moves into an analyst role and will assist with running backs after two years as an assistant in the recruiting operation for the Buffaloes. Upton previously served as an analyst at Houston Christian.
Kyle Wagner joins the staff as an analyst and will assist with tight ends, also joining CU from Sacramento State alongside Marion. He will assist with the tight ends and fullbacks. Wagner joined Marion at Sac State from the high school ranks in Missouri, where he most recently led Lutheran North to a state championship in 2024. He coached at Lutheran for four seasons and was also an assistant there from 2018-19, when they also won a state championship. In between, he was the head coach at Ridenour High School.
Marve replaces Rob Livingston, who has accepted a position with the Denver Broncos as passing game coordinator and secondary coach.
Marve joined Colorado this past offseason as linebackers coach after serving as defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Virginia Tech from 2022-24. He brings six seasons of coordinator or run-game coordinator experience at the Power Four level.
"Chris Marve was hired with the knowledge that he could one day advance considering his history and experience if the opportunity was presented," Coach Prime said. "He's a teacher, a motivator and a man of great character. I'm excited to get on the field Monday with these two extraordinary coordinators that will uplift our program on and off the field. God is incredible."
Together with Coach Prime, Marve and offensive coordinator Brennan Marion constitute the first time in CU history that the head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator are all African-American.
At Virginia Tech, Marve led a defense that ranked among the nation's top 20 in total defense in 2023 and finished second in the ACC. The Hokies also tied for 10th nationally with 39 sacks that season.
Prior to Virginia Tech, Marve coached linebackers at Florida State (2020-21), helping the Seminoles improve their run defense by more than 50 yards per game in 2021. He also served as defensive run game coordinator and linebackers coach at Mississippi State in 2019, where his unit helped the Bulldogs tie for the SEC lead in fumble recoveries.
"I'm beyond honored for the opportunity to lead the Buffaloes defense," Marve said. "I'm very grateful for the opportunity and for Coach Prime to entrust me with this phenomenal role. Sko Buffs!"
Marve began his coaching career at his alma mater, Vanderbilt, where he worked as a defensive quality control assistant (2014), graduate assistant (2015) and inside linebackers coach from 2016-18.
A native of Memphis, Tenn., Marve was a standout linebacker at Vanderbilt from 2007-11. A Freshman All-American in 2008, he was a four-time All-SEC selection and finished his career with 397 tackles, ranking among the top 10 in school history. He played in the 2008 Music City Bowl and the 2011 Liberty Bowl.
Marve has been part of three bowl games as a coach (2016 Independence, 2018 Texas and 2023 Military). Before college, he attended White Station High School in Memphis, Tenn., where he was named Tennessee 5A Mr. Football Lineman of the Year in 2007.
He earned bachelor's degrees in sociology and human and organizational development from Vanderbilt in 2011 and completed a master's degree in higher education administration in 2015.
As Spring Football opens Monday, the Buffs coaching staff is getting finalized. Beyond Marion and Marve, other new coaches and analysts joining the Buffs or moving into coaching or director's roles will be Vonn Bell, Dante Carter, Darius Darden-Box, Aaron Fletcher, Justin Houlihan, Kenny Ingram, Johnnie Mack, Josh Niblett, Clancy Pendergast, Rashad Rich, Joc Upton and Kyle Wagner.
Vonn Bell joins the Colorado staff as an analyst helping with safeties after a nine-year NFL playing career as a safety with the New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers. A second-round draft pick in 2016 out of Ohio State, Bell appeared in more than 120 career games and was a defensive leader on multiple playoff teams, including Cincinnati's Super Bowl LVI squad. Known for his physical play and communication in the secondary, he totaled more than 750 career tackles, eight interceptions, and 16 forced fumbles in his NFL career.
Dante Carter was elevated to defensive line coach after a season as a graduate assistant. He spent the 2024 season as the defensive line coach at Texas College, where the Steers were fourth in the NAIA in sacks. He played collegiately at Southeastern Louisiana and Prairie View A&M. Carter has also worked under the tutelage of pass rush specialist BT Jordan, which has led to Carter directly coaching a number of current NFL players including Myles Garrett, Zach Allen, Danielle Hunter, Nik Bonnito, and Will Anderson, Jr.
Darius Darden-Box moves into the role of Director of Player Personnel after three years as the Director of Recruiting. Darden-Box came to CU from Vanderbilt, where he was a quality control coach from 2018-22. He played at Southeast Missouri State as a wide receiver.
Aaron Fletcher joins the Buffaloes as the cornerbacks coach after serving as the defensive coordinator at Abilene Christian the past two seasons. He has previously coached at Tulsa (2015-20), Missouri (2020), Arizona State (2021-22) and Ole Miss (2023). Fletcher has been part of multiple units that ranked among conference leaders in pass defense and turnovers.
Justin Houlihan joins as an analyst and will assist with quarterbacks. He joins the Buffs alongside Marion from Sacramento State, where he was a graduate assistant and helped coach the tight ends. He joined the staff ahead of the 2023 season after finishing his playing career for the Hornets. He appeared in 16 games as a linebacker and special teams standout, and earned Big Sky All-Academic honors and graduated with a degree in business. He also played two seasons in junior college.
Kenny Ingram joins as an analyst and will assist with the defensive line. He comes to Colorado after a stint at Central Florida where he was the defensive ends coach. He also has worked as a coach at Arkansas, Arkansas State, Cincinnati, Memphis and Tennessee State, as well as two stints at Auburn in player development and personnel including the 2013 season when August was in the BCS National Championship game. Prior to college, he was the head coach at Melrose High School in Memphis from 2002-04, leading the team to a 37-4 record. He played at Arkansas State, graduating in 1999 with a degree in Political Science.
Johnnie Mack was elevated to running backs coach after a season as an analyst with the Buffs, joining CU alongside Marshall Faulk. Mack started his college career at SMU as an intern in the strength and conditioning program when Deion Sanders Jr. played there. He started his coaching career at East Carolina as a graduate assistant and also had stops at North Texas, Houston Christian and Hawai'i, before becoming a high school coach in both Florida at his alma mater Lakeland and in Texas, where he also played his college ball at Texas Tech.
Josh Niblett joins the Buffaloes as the tight ends coach after a highly successful head coaching career at the high school level in the South, compiling a 281-67 record in 26 seasons at four different high schools. He spent the past four seasons at Gainesville High School in Georgia, leading the team to the 5A state championship this past season. Prior to Gainesville, he built a powerhouse program at Hoover High School in Alabama, going 171-26 and winning six state championships in 14 seasons. He also won a state championship at Oneonta High School in 2004 in Alabama. He started his coaching career at Jacksonville State in 1997-99 before beginning his high school career.
Clancy Pendergast will join the staff as a senior analyst and assist with the linebackers. He brings more than three decades of coaching experience to the Buffs, including more than 15 years of NFL experience and almost two decades coaching at the Power 4 level. Most recently an analyst at UCLA since 2021, he was also the defensive coordinator at Cal from 2010-12 and USC in 2013 and 2016-19. He also has NFL experience at the Houston Oliers, Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs, the last two where he served as the defensive coordinator, for the Cardinals from 2004-08 and the Chiefs in 2009.
Rashad Rich joins the staff as Director of Recruiting. He came to CU after four year at Penn State where he worked in the recruiting department from 2022-25. Prior to Penn State, he was a scout for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League from 2017-22 and served as a scouting intern for the Chicago Bears in 2021. He has coached at the high school level and also served as Director of Football at Peak Performance. He played football at Bacone College and graduated with a degree in Physical Therapy.
Joc Upton moves into an analyst role and will assist with running backs after two years as an assistant in the recruiting operation for the Buffaloes. Upton previously served as an analyst at Houston Christian.
Kyle Wagner joins the staff as an analyst and will assist with tight ends, also joining CU from Sacramento State alongside Marion. He will assist with the tight ends and fullbacks. Wagner joined Marion at Sac State from the high school ranks in Missouri, where he most recently led Lutheran North to a state championship in 2024. He coached at Lutheran for four seasons and was also an assistant there from 2018-19, when they also won a state championship. In between, he was the head coach at Ridenour High School.
Bill Collins Made History as Colorado Football's First Black Captain
Thursday, February 12
Colorado Football Postgame Press Conference
Saturday, November 29
Mark Johnson & Gary Barnett breakdown Arizona State game | The Buffalo Stampede: Colorado Football
Sunday, November 23
Colorado Football Postgame Press Conference | Arizona State
Sunday, November 23