Former McClymonds coach, SJSU assistant Carter expected to be named Sacramento State’s football coach

Alonzo Carter, the assistant head coach at the University of Arizona and a decades-long Northern California fixture, is expected to sign a multi-year contract to become the head football coach at Sacramento State, sources close to his hiring told The Sacramento Bee.

Sacramento State President Luke Wood and Athletic Director Mark Orr interviewed candidates from across the country and all levels of football following Brennan Marion’s departure to become offensive coordinator at Colorado after one season leading the Hornets.

Among the candidates for the job was Troy Taylor, the Sacramento-raised football star who became a coaching star, including leading the Hornets to the program’s finest seasons with Big Sky Conference championships in 2019, 2021 and 2022 before he coached two seasons at Stanford. Taylor was fired from Stanford last spring amid allegations of bullying staff members.

Delaware State head coach and former NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson was also considered.

The sources, who had knowledge of but were not authorized to speak about the move, said a deal to bring on Carter was expected to happen as early as Monday morning.

Carter spent the last two seasons at Arizona after a seven-year run at San Jose State, where he also served as assistant head coach. At Oakland’s McClymonds High School, he led the program to 11 league and three CIF Oakland Section titles, earning seven league Coach of the Year honors.

He previously coached Contra Costa College, a two-year Bay Area program, to four conference titles in the 2010s.

An Oakland native, Carter first gained national attention in the late 1980s and 1990s as MC Hammer’s backup dancer and choreographer, appearing in hit videos including “You Can’t Touch This.” Hammer also graduated from McClymonds High.

A highly regarded recruiter, Carter was named 247Sports’ Mountain West Recruiter of the Year in 2019 while at San Jose State.