Colorado defensive coordinator Chris Marve is staying on the sideline Thursday night, and he’s not treating that as a novelty. For Marve, the decision to call the Buffaloes’ defense from field level against Georgia Tech comes down to what works best for him, not where a coordinator is traditionally supposed to sit.
He pointed to research that suggests the location itself doesn’t create a meaningful difference.
“So if we zoom out, kind of look at the macro, there was a study done in terms of a success rate of a defense or offense if the play caller’s in the booth or on the field. And what that study demonstrated was that it’s negligible.
So it’s based on the individual, where they are,” Marve said. “In my career, I would say 80 to 85 percent of the time I’ve been on the field.
And the times that I was in the booth, I was knocking coffee over, so I need to be down on the field.”
That preference lines up with how Marve has worked for most of his coaching life. He coordinated Virginia Tech’s defense from 2022 through 2024, and in 2023 that unit finished among the top 20 nationally in total defense while tying for 10th in the country with 39 sacks.
Before arriving in Boulder, Marve spent 2025 away from college coaching, interning with the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams and visiting college programs. He later joined Deion Sanders’ staff as linebackers coach, then was elevated in February after Robert Livingston left for a defensive pass game coordinator job with the Denver Broncos.
Now Marve is inheriting a defense that was gashed last season, allowing 425.7 yards per game, the most in the Big 12. The first challenge is a Georgia Tech offense that showed exactly how dangerous it can be a year ago, when the Yellow Jackets rushed 47 times for 320 yards in a 27-20 win at Folsom Field. Brent Key still wants that attack built on the ground, with Michigan transfer running back Justice Haynes in the mix.
That puts a premium on the basics before the ball is ever snapped. Assistant linebackers coach Andre’ Hart said the priority is getting the call in cleanly and lining everybody up the right way.
“Elite communication and smooth operations,” Hart said. “They have a great running game; they do a lot with their formations and their systems there. So elite communication and smooth operations.”
Marve’s setup adds another layer because he didn’t give up his position group when he became coordinator. He still works directly with a linebacker room that includes Bowling Green transfer Gideon Lampron, Texas transfer Lional Lefau, and New Mexico State transfer Tyler Martinez. Sanders has said he has three pros in the room, and being on the field keeps Marve connected to the players he coaches every day.
There’s already evidence the structure is settling in. Cornerbacks coach Kevin Mathis said Marve has built the defense around what his players do well instead of forcing them into a rigid system, and safety Ben Finneseth said the repetition has gotten the group to the point where the calls don’t take up much mental space anymore.
“Coming from Coach Marve, it’s establishing our identity - being fast and relentless and playing very physical,” Lampron said. “That’s the way he wants us to play.”
Marve said the football reasons matter, but his biggest motivation is more direct. He wants to be close enough to see his linebackers, read what they’re seeing, and talk to them in real time.
“But, man, on the serious note, what I enjoy and what I think is necessary in particular for the linebacker position is I have to look those guys in the eyes,” Marve said. “I have to see what they see. I have to be able to talk to them in a way that I understand what they’re feeling.”
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