Colorado hires Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk as running backs coach

One of the greatest running backs in NFL history is heading to Boulder. Marshall Faulk is joining Deion Sanders’ staff at Colorado as running backs coach, the program announced Thursday night.

Faulk will be the third Pro Football Hall of Famer roaming the sidelines at CU, joining Coach Prime and Warren Sapp. He was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2011 – his first year on the ballot – after a decorated career with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams.

Faulk has never coached at the collegiate level, meaning Colorado will be his first opportunity. He previously worked as an analyst at NFL Network alongside Sanders following his retirement in 2005.

One of the greatest to ever play the game.

Welcome our new Running Backs Coach, Marshall Faulk, to Colorado!#GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/pv2z0SB2w8

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) February 7, 2025

Faulk rose to stardom at San Diego State, where he put together a College Football Hall of Fame career with the Aztecs. A three-time First Team All-WAC selection and two-time unanimous All-American, he was in the top three of the Heisman Trophy voting all three seasons and was the runner-up to Gino Torretta as a junior.

The Colts then selected Faulk No. 2 overall in the 1994 NFL Draft, and he won the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 1994. That year, he ran for 1,282 yards and 11 touchdowns to lead the Indianapolis backfield.

Faulk played for the Colts until 1999 when he was traded to the Rams. He was part of the Super Bowl XXXIV team, known as “The Greatest Show on Turf,” and was a three-time First Team All-Pro selection in St. Louis. He also won the 2000 NFL MVP award.

All told, during his decorated career, Faulk was a three-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year and a seven-time Pro Bowler while leading the league in rushing yards in 2000 and in scoring twice. A member of the St. Louis Ring of Fame and the Colts Ring of Honor, he became a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2011.

With Marshall Faulk’s addition, Deion Sanders now has even more star power on his coaching staff. Coach Prime has emphasized NFL coaches on the sidelines at Colorado, and Faulk joins Warren Sapp as assistants with gold jackets in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Colorado is coming off an impressive turnaround season in 2024. The Buffaloes went from 4-8 in Sanders’ first season at the helm to 9-4 and a bowl game appearance this past year, led by Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders – two of the top prospects in this year’s draft.